"Uh, hey?"

So smooth, moron.

Natsu silently thanked the gods that Gray wasn't here to laugh at his lame statement.

Meanwhile, it was taking Lucy all of her brain power to figure out what, why, and how the actual hell this particular encounter was happening right now. She had answered the door moments ago only to be greeted by an empty hallway, and had returned back inside to inform her current housemates of the possible ghost in their building until her eyes spotted something on the floor that wasn't there before. Lucy was surprised to see her school I.D card on the floor near the door and gave herself a mental slap for not keeping track of such an important piece of plastic. She didn't even remember dropping it there when she came home. She would have heard it hit the floor, right? Maybe someone slid it under the door? It sounded like a stretch, especially considering there weren't many people around here that knew where she lived, but she decided to go back out into the hallway and check just for good measure.

Lucy wasn't sure what she was expecting to find, but it was not this.

Looking slightly disheveled, his hair messy and red t-shirt wrinkled in some places, the man of her fangirl dreams stood feet away in the hallway of her apartment building.

What the actual frick.

For the next few moments she could do nothing but stare in disbelief, finally coming to her senses when she saw him shift a little.

Oh right, I have to say words.

"... H-hey," she echoed dumbly.

"I uh… I watch your videos," he said with a small smile, sounding somewhat hesitant. She didn't blame him. She was acting so strange right now, not that she could help it...

Wait what- did he just say he watches my videos...

She paled.

… "It'd be Natsu from Fairy Tail."

He probably watched that.

Mavis in heaven why had she uploaded that video.

Natsu seemed to notice her uncomfortable I'm-about-to-run-away-now reaction, expression faltering a bit before he quickly rushed to add more to his statement in an attempt to set her at ease. "I'm a fan!" He grinned widely again.

She instantly forgot why she was so flustered. Seeing that smile through a screen was already nearly too much for her to handle, and now she was witnessing it in person, mere feet away, as HD as humanly possible. Actually, this wasn't even HD. This was like, the highest D you could go.

This was real life D.

… She made a note to never say that out loud ever.

It hadn't actually been that long to her but judging by the weird look Natsu was starting to give her she finally came to her senses (for the most part) and came to terms with what was actually happening.

Natsu Dragneel, her favorite YouTuber and longtime internet crush, was in the hallway of her apartment building. She was meeting him. Face to face. This was happening.

… In her pajamas.

She turned bright red as she realized how messy she looked in her huge old Pokemon t-shirt and cotton shorts. She hadn't even bothered to fix the jumbled mess of hair on her head, her sloppy bun hanging sideways and nearly undone.

This was not how she was supposed to look when she met her favorite YouTuber.

"I—" she needed to escape ASAP. No one should have to see her like this, especially not Natsu fucking Dragneel. Given, he didn't look very put together himself, but he somehow still looked hot! How did he still look hot?!

Once again forgetting how to say words, she let out an uncomfortable laugh and a small awkward wave before muttering "thanks for the card" and dashing right back into her apartment and slamming her door shut. As soon as she was safely inside she allowed her legs to turn to jello and her back slid down the wooden door until she reached a sitting position on the living room floor.

It took her a moment to realize Juvia and Levy standing before her at the door, looking as if they were going to implode with their held back laughter.

"Wow Lu." Levy said quickly, throwing her hand over her mouth to hold in the uncontrollable giggling.

"Smooooth," Juvia followed before bursting into cackling laughter, not even trying to hide her amusement.

"W-wh-" Lucy somehow reddened even more, "You guys heard that?!"

Levy nodded and pointed to the door. "Super thin walls."

A moment later the two bystanders both exploded into full blown laughter, no longer able to hold it in.

"H-hey!" Lucy cried over their cackling, mortified at what they had witnessed.

She pointed an accusing finger at Juvia. "I-It's not like you did any better yesterday with Gray!"

"I-I know I know, but wow," Juvia managed to breathe through her chuckles.

"Was I really that bad?!"

Levy placed a reassuring hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Not really. It could've been much worse. Don't sweat it."

The embarrassed blonde sighed and stood, dejectedly walking into the kitchen. Distractions. Distractions were good. "Ok idea: let's pretend the last five minutes never happened."

"Sounds good," Juvia smiled sympathetically.

"Ughh I need wine."

"Lu, it's 11am."

"Good point. Mimosa it is."

She walked over to the counter where they kept their alcohol and reached for the champagne (why did they have champagne?), though before she could get it Levy swatted her hand away.

"No alcohol at 11am, Lu," she laughed, even more so at Lucy's whine when she sulked away from the counter. "Besides, we have to take Juvia to 8 Island today!"

Juvia immediately sobered at the mention of the restaurant. "Oh right!" She practically hopped into the kitchen. "Ok. Last five minutes didn't happen. When are we going?!"

"Soon," Levy chuckled at the blunette's enthusiasm. "We just had breakfast."

"Oh. Right," Juvia sighed with a disappointed pout.

"In the meantime," Lucy piped up, forcefully throwing her Natsu encounter to the back of her mind where it would hopefully never be seen again. She walked over to the table in the living room and picked up the camera that sat there, turning to grin at her two friends on the other side of the half-wall. "Wanna do a video?"

Juvia's smile instantly returned. "Yes!"

That night found the three friends in the living room of Levy and Lucy's apartment with the same wine from last night, only in much larger quantities considering the only party they were planning on attending tonight was their own, (poorly) singing and dancing around the living room table to the catchiest kpop songs as they took occasional sips of their alcoholic beverages.

It was around 10pm when they finally got tired of dancing, and opted instead to flop down on the couch and relax their drunk muscles. Juvia was holding her take-out bag of leftover 8 Island closely to her chest, wanting badly to eat it but also not wanting it to be gone forever.

"What am I gonna do guyssss?!" An intoxicated Lucy whined, sprawled out across the couch with her head on Levy's lap and legs on Juvia's. If she was any less intoxicated it would've been kind of uncomfortable for her to lay this way, but after several shots she felt like she was rolling around on a pile of goddamn angels.

… Which in retrospect doesn't sound very comfortable at all, but at the current moment in Lucy's head it sounded heavenly.

"About what?" Levy asked, creating awkward blond braids of various different sizes on her friend's head.

"I met Natsu today and I looked so bad!"

Levy sighed. The poor girl sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "You didn't even look bad," she said, resting a palm on Lucy's knee reassuringly. "You were just super awkward is all."

"Agreeeed," Juvia chimed in, opening the bag slightly and popping a single fry in her mouth before closing it back up again.

"Whaddo I doo," Lucy whined again, earning a giggle from Levy. Despite being the smallest, she held her liquor better than anyone else in the room. Her ideal perfect night was sitting and relax with a good book in one hand and a wine glass in the other.

"Go find him and apologize for being such a weirdo," Levy joked.

"Adventure!" Lucy jolted from her spot on the couch, ruining the braid Levy had been working on. "Let's go find Fairy Tail!"

"Lucy I was totally joking."

Her statement seemed to fall on deaf ears, proven more solidly when drunk Juvia also shot up from the couch looking as excited as ever. "I wanna see my darling Gray again!"

Levy raised a brow. "Do you really think the end result will be any different this time?"

She was ignored again as Lucy and Juvia were now excitedly slipping their arms into their thin jackets while simultaneously trying to unlock the front door with intense teamwork. Sighing in defeat, she also rose from her seat and threw on her jean jacket. These girls were not going out on their own in that state.

Eventually they made it outside, the cool spring evening air blowing gently against their faces as they began aimlessly wandering the campus at nearly eleven at night. Levy figures they were just going to walk around a bit before coming back, but they had barely even made it out of the residential area before their attention was brought to the frat houses. There was one in particular that seemed to be beaming with life. Colorful flashing lights moved across the windows and crowds of people surrounded it, making a ruckus that could be heard all the way from where the three girls stood, 4 buildings down.

"Oooh I wanna go there!" Juvia pointed excitedly at the frat party. It looked just like how it did in movies and TV shows, and she wanted so badly to experience it herself. This was what college was about, right?

"Hmm…" Lucy looked deep in thought as she stared at the house while pondering her options.

Sober Lucy would've refused immediately.

Sober Lucy would've turned and walked in the other direction as soon as she heard the music.

Sober Lucy wouldn't be caught dead at a frat party.

… Drunk Lucy lived for this.

"Let's goo~" the blonde grabbed both her friends hands and began to skip towards the house, Juvia excitedly keeping in step while Levy was a bit more apprehensive.

"Uh, are we sure about this?" Levy was still not at all buzzed enough to find any party appealing. Saturday nights were meant to be spent curled up in a dimly lit living room with a good story, not in a packed crowd full of rowdy 20-somethings.

"C'mon Levy! It'll be so fun," Juvia piped, excitement growing as they got closer to the house.

"... Ughh fine." She had already been dragged this far, might as well try to enjoy it. She pulled out the Fireball she stashed under her jacket before leaving just in case this exact situation happened, and downed the equivalent of two shots in one go. It wasn't as bad as Vodka, but the taste still had her cringing and immediately yearning for a water bottle as soon as all of it had burned its way down her esophagus. She was more of a wine gal.

A couple more feet later, they stood in front of the house, not surprisingly clouded with the scent of alcohol and illegal substances.

They rushed to the front door.

… Only to be stopped by some guy at the entrance.

"Woah. I'm really not supposed to let anyone in without a costume," an attractive ginger-haired student dressed somewhat like a lion told them. They all looked down at their plain tank tops and jeans, and in Levy's case a simple orange dress.

Sure enough, they looked around the front lawn and actually inspected the party-goers, finding people were indeed dressed in all types of different costumes.

Well shit, we don't have any costumes!

"... Oh it's ok. Don't worry loves," the lion said quickly. It seemed Lucy said actually said that thought out loud. Flashing a wink and a flirty grin at the three girls, he reached into a bag behind him and pulled out three masks. "I can make an exception for beautiful ladies, but you have to wear these."

Lucy cautiously took the masks from the flirty guy's hand, giving one to Juvia and the other to Levy. They were simple masquerade masks that covered the top half of their faces with fancy designs. Lucy's had an added touch, a black feather that stood on the right side of it. If it weren't for their casual attire, she would've felt so fancy right now. She could party with the motherfreakin' queen of Fiore tonight with this mask.

Plastic and glitter did not get any fancier than this, people.

"Enjoy the party," he gestured into the foyer with an open hand. "By the way, I'm Loke. I'll be here if you need me," he gave one last look to Lucy and winked once more before greeting the next guest, some guy in a full-body dinosaur costume with one of its generic plastic plush doll eyes missing. He made it seem intentional by stuffing red paper into the empty space.

"Thank you!" The three of them said in unison and made their way into the booming house.

The inside was a completely different atmosphere than out. For one, the music was way louder, the bass of whatever song was playing shaking them down to the core and rattling their bones. The space was much more confined, giving them little room to move without bumping into someone dancing or a couple making out, of which there were plenty. Despite the flashing lights that could be seen from outside the house, it was actually very dark when you were inside. The girls only saw one place where they could actually stand and move around, and that was on the makeshift dance floor in the middle of what looked like the common area of the house. There was also the kitchen, blocked off from the space by a half-wall and barely visible in the dim light. That was where the weed smell was the strongest.

They decided on the dance floor.

They gently pushed their way through the crowds of drunk, high, and cross-faded college students until they made it to the center of the common area where the music seemed to be loudest. It probably was futile to try and speak to each other while they were in there, so they opted for communicational grins before they got into a small circle and began to dance.

It seemed the dance gods were on their side tonight, because as soon as they started dancing the young DJ in the corner of the room began playing a song all three of them knew and loved. Their lazy occasional hip swings soon evolved to match the energy of everyone around them as they allowed the music and alcohol to take over their bodies and release their inhibitions for the night.

Soon they were dancing freely without a care in the world, even letting loose their small circle to move with others around them, all just as drunk as they were. Every minute or so the very lively DJ would yell something like 'are y'all havin' fun tonight?!' and the entire house would shake with screams of 'yeah!' along with general cheering, the girls eventually joining in on it after the first five minutes.

Levy and Juvia eventually left to find something to drink after expelling so much energy on the dance floor, while drunk Lucy opted to stay and dance some more with her local party-goers. They giggled and left her to her own devices, able to tell she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

And so there she was, swaying her hips and moving to the beat like she wasn't in the middle of a party full of people, but rather in her room where no one was watching. She had caught the attention of quite a few guys (and some girls) wanting to dance with her, but she politely denied them in favor of keeping to herself.

Well, until he showed up.

She hadn't noticed him before, probably because he was dancing with a group of friends, like most people on the floor. But he got her attention now, alone and dancing right in front of her, mere feet away. She could barely see what he looked like, his costume consisting of a mask that covered everything except the part of the face where his eyes were. Most of his hair was under a black beanie that matched the color of his outfit. Besides the mask it was a pretty casual costume, a black t-shirt, black jeans and black Vans. Is he supposed to be a ninja or something?

Lucy had quickly caught on that he had been sneaking glances at her for a while. The guy was really bad at being discreet. But still had yet to approach her. He merely continued to dance a respectable distance away, not-so sneakily looking away quickly when she looked in his direction. Strange. Everyone else that was attracted to her here at this alcohol haven of a frat party wasted no time in rubbing up against her without even asking for permission, and it was starting to annoy her.

Ninja guy was tall. At least a head taller than her, from what she could tell. The end of a tattoo could be seen under the sleeve of his shirt, interesting her further. She had kind of a thing for tattoos. She couldn't see his face, but judging by everything else, this guy was attractive.

She wanted to get closer.

Lucy waited until she caught his glance again, but this time she wouldn't look away. Luckily for her it happened right then, and she was able to put her plan into action immediately.

He tore his gaze away as soon as he noticed her eye on him, but brought it back when he saw that she was still looking. They stared at each other for a moment, before Lucy gave him a small smile and moved a little closer to where he was, still dancing. She couldn't see any facial expression he was making thanks to that annoying mask, but judging by his small step closer to her, it was in her favor.

She moved closer.

He did the same.

And soon they were right in front of each other, dancing together to whatever catchy generic song the DJ was playing.

They danced in sync with each other for a while, one gradually getting comfortable with the other's presence until they were basically moving together like they were best friends. Occasionally one would pull a silly dance move that would have the other laughing like crazy, happily enjoying each other's drunken company.

Lucy's is-this-guy-attractive meter only rose as the time progressed. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was drunk, but she could tell he was someone that didn't take himself too seriously. That was a serious plus for her. Add that to the fact that he had made her laugh several times through dancing alone. And now that he was so close, she was able to get a better look at him. The mask, which Lucy could now see was just cloth he wrapped lazily around his head, exposed a strong jawline and intense eyes Lucy enjoyed staring into despite the dim light, cheesy as that sounds. If only she could just rip the cloth off and admire the rest of his face…

She hoped Juvia and Levy spent all night looking for that drink.

A song, slower than the others but still fast enough to dance to began to play, and Lucy took this as an opportunity to get even closer to the handsome stranger. She gingerly brought her hands up to wrap around his neck, grinning and pulling him slightly to her. His hands immediately went to her waist as they moved together with the music.

Their faces were mere inches away at this point. She'd been having the time of her life on this dance floor with him, and she couldn't deny the attraction she felt despite not even being able to see his full face. Not that it mattered at this point.

She removed her hands from around his neck to place him slightly underneath his chin, where she slowly lifted the edge of the cloth until it was just under his nose. He did absolutely nothing to stop her, only gripping her waist tighter as she worked.

Times like this where Lucy could truly let loose made her remember why exactly she had left home, and why exactly she was never going back. There was no way this could ever happen back when she lived in that stifling house, and that's why she was going to enjoy every moment of this night, while she was too drunk to care about anything else and too free now to not take any risks.

She cupped his face with her hands, got on the tips of her toes and kissed him.

It was a pretty simple kiss, she had merely gently placed her lips against his. But when she pulled away she found that she wanted more than that, and dove right back in. They seemed to be on the same wavelength because he met her halfway in a kiss that was still innocent, but better than the last.

Neither pulled back this time, instead choosing simultaneously to deepen the kiss as Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck to pull her closer. She felt His own arms went further around her slim waist, pulling her to him. She forgot about everyone else, focusing only on him and his lips on her own as they moved in perfect harmony.

Right when it was beginning to get more intense she felt a dainty, yet firm hand grab onto her arm and pull her back from her new friend, missing the closeness immediately as it was ripped away from her by her short bluenette friend. She immediately turned to glare daggers at her roommate.

"Sorry to break this up, but we gotta go!" Levy yelled over the bone-rattling music. Lucy furrowed a brow.

"Cops are here! Juvia's outside, come on!" Levy continued to pull the blonde towards the backdoor, giving no opportunity for questions. Lucy would drunkenly put the pieces together on the way back to the apartment.

Gradually getting out of her daze, Lucy seemed to finally understand the situation after several moments of being dragged by her surprisingly strong petite friend, and began to hop into step with her.

But she couldn't help but keep glancing behind her at her ninja friend, who seemed to still be looking at her in a daze of his own while his friend, who looked kind of like her alcoholic neighbor Cana, urgently tugged on his sleeve. She smiled and gave him a small wave. She could see the small grin he returned as he waved back.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

They made it out through the sliding door in the kitchen, walking right into a mess of panicking college students running in all directions. The sound of a siren could be heard coming from the other side of the house.

"This way!" Levy gripped Lucy's hand tighter as they ran across the grass of the backyard, dodging people left and right until they cut through a bush that led them straight to the road back to their apartment, a mask-free Juvia was already standing there waiting for them, running her hands up and down her arms. It was late, and it had gotten even colder than it was since they had arrived.

"What took you so long? It's freezing out here!" Juvia whined as they began making their way back home at 2am.

"Lucy here was busy making out with Natsu Dragneel to notice anything. Had to drag her out of there," Levy giggled.

"I see. Damn Lucy, I really didn't think you had it in you after this morning," Juvia chuckled. "If only Gray was there," she sighed.

"Sorr-"

…

"Wait, WHAT?"

"We were looking for something to drink and we saw him talking to the dude at the front door," Levy explained. "It seemed like they were friends but apparently that was no exception to the costume rule, so he just wrapped his scarf around his face and went in."

"We were gonna tell you after we found water or something but couldn't find anything that wasn't alcohol anywhere," Juvia continued. "We just gave up after a while and went to find you just to see you were already up close and personal with him."

"Juvia was so jealous," Levy snickered. "Congratulations girl! You found Natsu tonight like you wanted, and more."

"Ahhh if only Gray was there!" Juvia whined.

"You wouldn't have said a word to him, even drunk," Levy deadpanned.

"Ahhh you're right!"

Meanwhile, Lucy wasn't listening to anything the girls were saying. She couldn't hear anything after Natsu Dragneel.

"Uhh, hey Lucy are you ok? You look kinda…"

"Oh Mavis she's falling!"

"Did she just faint?!"

"Quick! Before she lands on the pavement!"