Silence was in the air. Lucy and Levy were both studying and the silence was starting to annoy Levy, as she heard Lucy's pen tapping on her notebook. She no longer had any concentration and looked curiously at her friend.
"What's with the long face again?"
"What face?"
"That one you're making now. I know we're studying, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you're thinking about."
"I'm not thinking about anything."
"Lu-chan, how many times do I have to say this? I know you better than anyone else, even better than yourself. You're lying, I bet you're not even studying. You're just staring at that book."
"Well, studying has always been your thing. I'm not really in the mood, that's all."
"It's not just that and I know it. You're lost in your thoughts, just tell me what it is." Lucy didn't answer and stared back at her book while ignoring her friend's question, "Oh, I know! You're thinking about Natsu again, aren't you?"
"Of course not! Why would I think about that annoying guy?"
"Because you can't help it." Levy laughed, "I knew it, I caught you!"
"I didn't even say anything!"
"You don't have too, I know you too well. Besides, you're a terrible liar." she smiled, "So, what exactly are you thinking about? Are you worried that he might do something to blackmail you again?"
"I'm not worried about anything. He thinks he's too smart, but not even close. He thinks I'm scared of what he might know about me, but I don't believe it."
"I can't help it but laugh about this whole thing. Who would've thought that you would have such a dispute with the school's most popular guy? It has to be destiny."
"If that's the case, I hate it. I'd rather go straight to hell instead of having to deal with this kind of destiny."
"Well, why don't you accept my suggestion? You could expose him and tell the whole school that you can't stand him." she laughed.
"That would never work, even if I wanted to. He has a whole reputation in this school, no one would believe me, especially since I don't have that recording anymore."
"Well, I guess you'll have to endure him until you figure out another way to get rid of him. Unless, you end up liking him."
"Ha ha, very funny. Not in a million years." Lucy rolled her eyes and heard the school's bell, "Well, it's time to go."
Lucy hurried her steps as she made her way to her class so as not to be late. She was an outstanding student who wanted to get good grades as much as possible, but she had a habit of being late from time to time. As soon as she got to the room, the first thing she did was bump into Natsu, who was already sitting at his desk and smiled slightly in her direction when he saw her. She just ignored him and walked towards her chair. Unfortunately, that was not enough, as Natsu leaned toward her and spoke.
"Hey, again." he smirked, but Lucy simply ignored him, "Wow, how rude."
She ignored him again and turned around when someone else's voice entered her ear. It was Gray, another one of her classmates. He asked her a question and she answered it with a smile, looking briefly at Natsu to let him now that she was intentionally ignoring him. She wanted to provoke him, she wanted to let him know that she didn't give a damn about his threats and that she wasn't interested in the dispute he tried to create.
After a few minutes, another boy came into the room and Lucy was very curious because she had never seen him before. He had funny, red hair, with glasses, and Lucy was particularly interested in wanting to know who he was. Fortunately, as soon as he entered, he sat down in one of the chairs near her.
"Hi." he waved at her.
"H-Hi." she was surprised by the interaction.
"Sorry if I surprised you. I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"
"Yes, I am. I could say the same about you, but I guess that's normal."
"Nice, welcome. It's rare to find a pretty face around here nowadays." he smiled and Lucy almost blushed, "I'm Loke."
"O-Oh, I'm Lucy."
Meanwhile, Lucy heard Natsu laughing with some boys on the other side of the room and couldn't ignore it. Their laughter was bothering her and she was curious to know the topic of conversation, but tried not to take any notice because she knew there was no point. When she was distracted and turned slightly forward again, Loke looked at her intently.
"Don't bother with them. I know it must be weird to be around them sometimes, but they're nice guys. They're just a bit annoying and idiots sometimes."
"Yeah, I could tell." they both laughed.
"They're fine if you don't pay attention to their conversations."
Suddenly, before Lucy could say something, she heard Natsu in the back.
"Hey, Locke! Did you bring that?"
Locke frowned, as well as Lucy, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you know. That thing. The thing you said that makes girls crazy." Lucy was still frowning and looking back at Locke, "You remember, right? We all talked about it, you said that you would bring it today. That thing you saw in one of those perv magazines."
Lucy couldn't help but be shocked with what she had heard. She looked at Locke with an embarrassed expression, not knowing what to say or if she should even be listening to that nonsense. She looked back at Natsu and he was smirking, she had no idea if it was some kind of sick joke between them, but she just wanted to leave the classroom.
"Shut up, Natsu. I have no idea what you're talking about, stop saying stupid things."
"Don't be shy, Locke! You have to let me borrow one of those magazines someday." he kept smirking and noticed Lucy's expression, "Oh, damn. Sorry, did I just interrupt something?"
That's when Lucy realized that he had done that to embarrass Locke on purpose. She didn't know if that was true or not, but the only thing that she could notice was that Natsu was doing that in order to interrupt her conversation with Locke and it was annoying her. She didn't want to be a part of it, so she just ignored him and turned around to stop facing both Natsu and Locke. Natsu simply smirked, knowing that his mission had been accomplished and looked back at Locke, who was furious with him and sat on a table at the back of the classroom. Natsu took that opportunity to approach Lucy again.
"You should be careful. Some guys are not worth it."
"You're not that much different from him, in case you're wondering."
"You might be right." he leaned closer to her ear, which caught her by surprise, "But I'm much better." Lucy felt a shiver after hearing his voice so close to her and Natsu smirked, "Besides, you don't even know me that well. It takes time to aknowledge my charm."
"You're assuming that you have any charm, to begin with."
"You're rude, blondie. I guess it makes everything more interesting." Lucy rolled when she looked at his provoking expression.
Lucy had no idea what he meant by that, but she couldn't help but look at him and notice the endearing expression on his face. He was looking at her as he smiled and there was something in his eyes that made her unable to look away. It seemed like he was studying her somehow, and she was starting to get nervous when she noticed that her eyes crossed with his and she was at a loss for what to say in response. It was at that moment, that Gajeel's voice interrupted the conversation and she internally thanked him.
"Hey, I'm gonna grab something to drink before the class starts. Do you want some?"
Natsu took a few seconds, while staring at Lucy one more time, before answering, "Sure, why not? I'll see you later, blondie."
After school, Lucy arrived at her apartment and just as she was about to put the key in the lock and open the door, she heard someone shouting, just a few doors away from hers. She looked around and found no one, probably some of her neighbors were arguing too loudly and she could hear a little, but after a few seconds, one of the doors opened and she heard a familiar voice.
"For the last time, I'M NOT GOING BACK HOME!" Natsu was yelling at someone, with his phone on his hand. He immediately hung up the call before Lucy could understand what was going on and when he turned around, he was surprised after noticing her presence.
"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to overhear, you just-" he was too serious and she couldn't finish the sentence, "Is something wrong?"
"It's fine." he answered with a serious tone.
"Do you want to talk about-"
"No. I don't want to talk about anything."
Without saying another word, he turned around and left Lucy standing in the same place, watching him disappear. She was curious about what had just happened, but she knew better than to mind her own business and maybe it was for the best. He seemed like a guy with two faces. She knew his true face, the one he tries to hide from everyone at school, but she also wondered if he actually had a nice face too. She wanted to know, but at the same time she knew better than to get close to a guy like him. She knew that she would only get hurt. Even so, she couldn't help but want to know who the hell was Natsu Dragneel.
Two weeks had passed and Lucy's days were as normal as every other. She and Levy went to their classes and Lucy tried to ignore Natsu as much as she could. He would try to attempt to talk and joke around with her, even though Lucy's only reaction was to roll her eyes and try to pretend he wasn't in the same room as her. It had been a couple of rough weeks, ever since she caught Natsu on the phone and had no idea what was going on. She never asked him again about it, and he seemed to have forgotten about it, since he didn't confront her about it at all. At school, he was the same charming guy that every girl wanted to date, but Lucy knew his real personality.
It was saturday morning and Lucy had nothing to do. She stood up and realized that she couldn't fall asleep again. She wanted some coffee and decided to get dressed and go to the nearest coffee shop around. She got her things and went there. It was a beautiful morning and she only hoped that nothing would ruin that, but when she entered the shop, she went to counter and heard familiar voices before trying to order her coffee.
"These taste awful!"
Lucy turned around and noticed that Gajeel and Natsu were sitting on one of the tables behind her. She immediately turned around to face the counter again because she didn't want them to see her. She couldn't help but hear the conversation, since Gajeel was talking too loud.
"Don't be a jackass! They taste good, they're the best."
"Only for people who have no good taste, that's for sure."
"Choose your own food next time, then."
"You guys are such kids."
Lucy was surprised when she heard a third voice. She immediately recognized it, but she was surprised by not noticing her presence among the guys. Lisanna was with them. She remembered when Lisanna told her that she lived close by and had a few chances to talk and hang around with Natsu, but she had never seen them together up until that point. She knew that Lisanna was after Natsu's attention, or so she told her.
"I'm not gonna buy you another one. Go get it yourself, punk." Natsu said.
"Hmpf, fine! I'll eat this crap, but I'll go outside in case I have to throw it out."
"Sure, big guy. You're all muscles and talk."
"I'll go to the bathroom. When I'm back, there better be some good food on this table."
Lucy heard Gajeel getting up and tried to hide herself so that he wouldn't notice her presence.
"So, we're alone at last." Lisanna said with joy in her voice, "I was thinking, what are doing tonight?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna be busy."
"Like what? We both know that you have nothing better to do. At least, you could have some good company."
"From who?"
"Oh, we've got some sense of humor." Lucy turned around to peak and noticed Lisanna getting closer to Natsu and touching his arm, "At least, you could pretend not to know I'm hitting on you."
"Why? I told you before, I'm not interested in you."
"Oh, come on. You used to be so much fun. What happened to the cool guy Natsu that I met a while ago, that no one knows about?"
Lucy frowned. Lisanna knew about Natsu's true face. She knew that he wasn't the charming guy that every other girl at school thought he was. She knew it, just like her. She was confused about why Lisanna didn't say anything back then, or why she was trying to hit on him if she knew how he really was, but Lucy realized that maybe she wanted to feel special about being the only person to know about Natsu's secret.
"He's still here, just not interested."
"Really?" she leaned closer, "So, which Natsu is standing here right now? The one who wanted to have fun with me to get distracted and not think about love, or is it another Natsu who's gotten soft?"
"I'm not soft."
"Is that so? Then, you won't mind if we have some fun again, right?"
"I told you, I'm not int-"
Before he could finish the sentence, Lisanna leaned in fast and kissed him. It was a short kiss, but Lucy still saw it and Natsu didn't move away. They stood there for a few seconds before Lucy turned around to face the counter again and try to forget what she had just witnessed. It was sudden and she wasn't expecting it, and somehow, seeing it gave her a strange feeling. She felt something in her chest and tried to forget about the whole thing. Her heart started beating fast for some reason and she was getting nervous, she wanted to leave but didn't want them to know that she was there.
Before she could do anything, the barista arrived and looked at her. He could feel her distress.
"Ma'am, are you okay?"
"U-Umm, yeah. I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You seem a little nervous, do you need me to get you anything?"
"Yeah, I'm just- I'm having an exam today and I'm, umm, I'm just nervous. I'm sorry, I need to go. Thank you."
She got up without ordering anything and went straight to the door. She tried to think about what was going on and why she started acting so weird after that. She decided to go home, but before she could leave, she heard the shop's door opening up and someone calling behind her.
"Lucy?"
She turned around and Natsu was right in front of her, staring at her like he had seen something weird. Lucy tried to think of something to say, but the whole situation was making her feel embarrassed.
"H-Hi, didn't see you in there."
"I heard you talking to the barista and he said you didn't seem fine. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, like I said, I'm fine."
"You don't really look fine."
"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm fine!"
"I heard you, but I still think you're lying." he walked closer to her, "I'll walk with you."
"No, I don't need you to walk me anywhere. I just need you to leave me alone."
"What?! What the hell did I even do to you now? I'm just trying to help."
"Yeah, that's what you've been trying to do ever since we met, right?"
"Why are you acting like that?"
Lucy put her hands on her head and tried to calm down. She was getting angry. She was angry about the whole situation and the whole distress she had ever since she came to town and met Natsu. Ever since she found out about his secret and had to endure his presence around her all the time. She had no time to focus on her studies or anything else because she couldn't stop thinking about who the hell that guy was and what he wanted with her.
"Lucy." he walked closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, but she shoved him away.
"Don't touch me! Just leave me alone, for once. I don't want you to be near me. You've been a pain in my ass ever since I met you and your little secret. I'm tired of it, I'm done with it and I'm done with you being around me all the time because it's making me feel weird. I don't- I don't know what I'm-" she tried to calm down, "I just want to go home and have a rest, that's all."
"You saw it, didn't you?" he asked, calmly.
"What?"
"You saw me and Lisanna back there, didn't you?"
"What does that even have to do with anything?"
"I'm not interested in her, she's just all over me but I don't want anything with her."
"What is even your point? I don't care about that."
"Stop lying."
"I'm not lying! Do you really think this is about that? Do you really think I care about the girls you hang around with?" she let out a big sigh, "Oh my god, what is going on?! You're so clueless and full of yourself. Did you even hear a word that I just said?"
"Lucy, just admit that you're jealous and that's why you left."
"Stop! I'm not jealous and I don't care, stop thinking that every girl out there is trying to get you or fall for you. I'm not one of those! I didn't fall for your fake charming personality and I still haven't, I'm not dumb!"
"I wanna hear you say it."
"Say what?!"
"That you left because you saw me and Lisanna and that's why you felt weird."
"Really? You're still at it?" she stopped for a moment and noticed that he wasn't kidding. He was trying to make her look like a fool, "Fine, is that what you want me to say? That I was jealous because you make me feel confused about what I feel when you're around me and that I can't remove you from my mind because you keep following my ass everywhere? Is that what you want to hear?"
"What can I say?" he smirked, "You have a nice ass."
After that, Lucy was speechless. He was not even listening to anything she was saying. She felt like an idiot. He was playing around with her and she had fallen into his trap. She turned her back to him and started walking towards home without saying anything else. She wanted to punch him, she wanted to make him pay for making her a fool. She didn't know what he was trying to do or accomplish. Why was he always around her? Why was he always trying to interact with her if he didn't need to anymore? He had deleted the recording, there was no reason for him to keep being around her anymore, so why wouldn't he leave her alone?
"Lucy, wait! I was just joking!"
She ignored him and kept walking. She didn't want him to follow her, so she walked faster and tried to forget that he was still standing there. She wanted to go home and forget about the whole thing. In that moment, she wanted to forget about ever meeting Natsu Dragneel.