A/N: When i first thought of how I would write this story, this scene in particular was one of several that defined the entire story, although in time heavily modified, the essence it there. I am content to say story is slowly reaching to it's first major complication and things are going to become rough... but for now... we are still not there yet. We are still enjoying a bit of quiet time...

Alarm sounded itself and within just few loud beeps hand reached to it and silenced the machine. Eyes gazed upon the numbers that were displayed on it. It needed a few seconds for brain to fully function and once it comprehended the number seven followed by two zeroes on the alarm clock, groan was heard and the sleepy face fell down on the pillow. Just… five more minutes… But alas there were no five minutes to waste and Lucy knew that well so she did only thing she knew would wake her up properly. It was time for shower.

Lucy walked down after the shower and into the living room where table with breakfast was already waiting for her and she smiled. Among the chaos that she goes through everyday this was a single thing she could count on, a singularity where all begins and all ends. She sat down and quickly grabbed couple of French toasts, placing it on her plate and began eating, fast, almost as if she was being chased.

"Dear you must slow down otherwise you will choke" elderly woman spoke as she came to the table, placing glass on it and poured some juice in it.

"Can't… need to run in…." Lucy stopped and looked at her watch "I was supposed to go five minutes ago"

"Must you work even on Sunday?"

"Mhm… I have two shifts today" Lucy reached into her pocket and pulled out money, placing it on the table "Speaking of, here is pay for this month and I am sorry it took so long"

"I told you not to rush, I am not going anywhere. I cannot leave you alone like this" woman spoke with soft smile and took a seat at the table, looking at Lucy who devoured toast one bite at the time.

"I know but I can't rely just on promises, I feel at ease knowing that your work is paid as well" she stopped for a moment and swallowed food that was in her mouth "And I know that I am already asking a lot of you…"

"Nonsense dear, do not think of it like that…" Elizabeth replied the smile has completely disappeared from her face and it was replaced by the saddened look, her hands gently squeezing

"It still doesn't feel right… I am taking your time that you could be spending with your family-"

"My family lives on the other side of the town and they live their own lives" Elizabeth interrupted her "They visit me once a week and understand my work so you don't worry about me. If it comes to a point where I can no longer be around I will first inform you about it"

Lucy smiled at this, indeed the singularity has been proven to exist and it was this thing… a person to rely on. She looked at the watch again and her eyes widened at how late it is. Her hand reached and took the glass, drinking entire content of it and placed it back on the table.

"Thank you very much for the breakfast I will be back sometime around the evening depending how busy it is at the club." And with that she took bag from the floor and went out, leaving the woman to sigh. It wasn't hard to read her reaction and it all screamed of worry… Often she wondered where Lucy found the strength to continue knowing that girls of her age don't even have half as responsibilities that she does.

"That poor child will lose her youth…" her hand reached and pressed against her mouth, eyes glistened and released few tears.

Noon was slowly approaching and Natsu was forced to undertake extreme and terrible measures… he was forced to roam the city alone. It wasn't any kind of punishment, dear me no… it was a simple fact that he was completely and utterly bored to the last strand of his pink hair. Gray had what he called "our day" with Juvia although in all honesty it was 'her day' that he couldn't miss and it was a time when they used to spend time alone. Gray didn't complain and it was also one day when he was not hanging out with Natsu which sometimes could be considered a blessing. His possibilities were very limited at this time of day… Too early for any kind of party, too early for any club, he wasn't particularly interested in visiting any cinema and those who were free to be called were preparing for the Monday.

In his mind Sunday is by far the most boring day, and I am sure I empathized that word quite enough but it is in fact true. The finest day is Friday, a day when everyone are too stressed from the college and are in desperate need to let loose and go wild, it is the day for miracles to occur, it is the day for conquest and glorious victories! Sunday is a day when you recover and prepare for another vicious circle of monotony and lectures. It did occur to him for a moment to call someone, some girl that he knew could easily score just by showing up at the campus dormitory… but there was this nagging voice in head that made him stop each time he would reach for his phone.

It was annoying, it was completely and utterly annoying thing. Staying at home? Now there is an idea he could easily avoid so he did only thing that he could think of and that is efficient in spending his time until he finds something better to do… he dressed up and walked out.

His feet could have led him anywhere, they could have led him to stadium where he often dreamed of playing as a star, but they didn't. They could have led him to museum but they most certainly didn't… where they did led him was down the little street with a sweet shop at the intersection.

Natsu passed it, not caring much for sweets but after few steps forward he stopped and moved back. His head turned and looked inside and grin appeared on his face, wide, mischievous and the same nagging voice in his head appeared only to whisper "your conquest awaits".

He opened the door and small bell rang as it did, signaling for customer. Content was impossible to hide on his face as he moved to table and sat on the chair. Eyes fixed forward seemingly gazing at some distant point until waitress came to him.

"Good day sir, can I take your order?" she smiled

"Yes well I was in the mood for something sweet" that was a lie "And I thought that I could take a few minutes to eat something sweet" that was also a lie "But as the shop has nothing to offer something so sweet that would sate my desire, I was thinking if I could order you from a menu. Since you are far sweeter than the cakes you offer." That one was in fact true.

Waitress leaned down, still having a smile on her face

"This is stalking you know?"

"Oh come on Lucy, it can't be stalking since I wasn't intending to come here in the first place. I swear I didn't know you work here!"

"Then you could have walked away" she replied, gritting her teeth

"Come now, like I said I am in the mood for something sweet and are you sure you are allowed to refuse service to a customer?"

Lucy looked over shoulder, trying to notice if her boss was looking but since he was nowhere to be seen she looked at Natsu again, this time without the same sweet smile.

"Why are you following me Natsu?"

"Like I said, I wasn't following you, I was walking and I noticed you working here."

"So now that you know that I work here how about you let me work" she gritted her teeth again, raising her voice just a little bit under the point of yelling.

"But I came to ask you on a date with me"

"That is not going to happen!" she was now raising her voice even higher and she quickly looked to see if anyone is watching this little show.

"What happened to you?" He asked looking at her, the grin disappeared

"What do you mean what happened to me?" Lucy asked, moving a little bit back and looked down as if trying to see if there was something on her uniform

"Well you were so much nicer yesterday" He answered, leaning back on his chair and folding his arms "I was thinking you were just about to allow me to be close to you.

"That was before I learned that you are also a stalker"

"So what we had yesterday was all a lie? I thought you liked me!" He made a sad face as fake as he can pull off but instead of sympathy from her all he got was Lucy rolling her eyes.

"Did you expect that we are going to become something after one day of study?"

"Ok so I need more days? That's cool, I'll take that" his face quickly lit and smile again appeared on his face, much to her displeasure. She was about to walk away but other waitress came to Lucy. She was a bit shorter than her, blonde hair and pink lipstick, in fact… she was close to being a shorter version of Lucy.

"Hey is everything alright?" she asked

"Oh it's fine Nea, he is just a bit indecisive…" Lucy smiled at her and looked at Natsu who clearly enjoyed this situation.

"Yeah like she said umm… I'll have vanilla cake slice and what will it take for me to borrow her for about… mmm ten minutes?" as he finished, the little waitress smiled wide and nudged Lucy who clearly couldn't shake away from this situation.

"Oooooooo" she started, voice high pitched and teasing "Someone's boyfriend came to visit hmmm?"

"Wait, what?" Lucy quickly asked looking at her

"Caught me" Natsu interrupted before Lucy could deny anything "we have so little time due to school and I don't get to see her often"

Waitress quickly nodded in approval and smiled even wider if it was possible "I'll get your order right away and I'll cover you in the meantime" she nudged Lucy again and quickly disappeared from the scene of this crime, leaving Lucy to contemplate on what just happened. Natsu was in full control however and with his foot he pushed other chair back a bit and nodded, asking her to sit. With two against one, she knew well that this battle is about to be lost and before that could occur she surrendered completely and sat down, glaring at Natsu.

"Here you go sir, enjoy" waitress winked at Natsu who nodded at her and took small fork, taking bite of the cake.

They sat in silence for a long two minutes. Not a word was uttered but to anyone who might look at them it would be like a scene from a movie. A rebel in jeans and red shirt on one side and sweet shop waitress in pink uniform on the other, of course few if any would know what truly went on. Natsu continued to eat cake in silence, pondering after every bite he took until Lucy finally broke the silence.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"What am I doing? I am just eating my cake" he responded in innocent tone

"No, you are after me every single day and you just don't take the hint" she leaned a bit forward "Natsu, why?"

"Tell you what…" he stopped and raised his fork, pointing at Lucy, his face was serious, brows slightly furrowed "I'll answer you one question, if you answer me one question. No lies, full honesty, deal?"

Lucy hesitated… she knew that there is not walking out this one even if she refused but in this she found a little bit of chance, at very least an opportunity to perhaps learn a bit more about Natsu and perhaps clear things out. So… she agreed.

"Alright, I'll let you ask first, anything you want, nothing is off limits" he grinned and leaned back on his chair, leaving fork on the plate and folder his arms in expectation of the question.

"Why are you after me? You could go after… any girl you want. So why me?" Lucy asked, it didn't took her long to think of this question as it was something she needed answer to.

"Honestly?" He leaned forward, placing elbows on the table trying to be as close to her as he can in this position "Because you intrigue me. Because of what you just said?"

"What did I say?"

"I can have every girl I can but I don't want that. Well I do but not always. What if I tell you I like a girl who is not some bimbo that falls for a football player without knowing the guy. Is he good, is he bad, is he talented does he have three grams of brain? He scores big time on games, he rides bike, hey everyone suddenly loves him so every girl gets her panties wet just by looking at him. But you? No you didn't do that, I am practically throwing myself at you and you are still refusing me. Your panties are as dry as a desert, aren't they?"

Lucy felt a bit uncomfortable, more so when he started mentioning her panties but she quickly gathered her composure

"You lead a boring life, I have never seen you on any party guys made, home or otherwise so yeah I am pretty sure you are missing out and I want to give you that little bit of fun."

"Now you sound as if you are doing me a favor and not trying to have sex with me"

"But I am trying to do that! Both actually. Why? I am good at it" he leaned forward a bit more but she leaned back "I am great at it. Nine out of ten girls finish before I do and say that I am great in bed… and car and tables and other places" he grinned wide, impishly even.

"And what did that tenth girl say to your "great skills" hmm?" She asked, adding bit of sarcasm to the quoted words

"I am looking at the tenth girl right now!" He moved back, leaning against the chair, his face showed signs of being severely annoyed "I can't reach you, I don't get you, just when I think I've read you, you close the book again and I am in the dark. Let's just say, I am attracted to you for some unexplained reason even though I don't go after nerds."

"Well that makes me very special…" she continued with sarcastic tone

"You think? I haven't had sex in a week. A week! I am honestly feeling like a junkie that is on rehab!"

"Hold on hold on, I never asked you to go on your abstinence because of me! We are not even close to being a couple and that is not going to change."

"Why? I am using my end of the bargain to ask you, why are you so set on refusing me without knowing me?"

She took a deep breath and in a single moment she remembered the reason but she couldn't say it out loud but also she couldn't lie.

"Because I do not have time for it… for you, for anyone else"

"You don't have time?" He asked, obviously in disbelief because of what he heard

"Natsu…" she took a bit of a pause and leaned forward "I have three part time jobs… I work here every Saturday and Sunday, I work four days per week in Sabertooth club depending on when owner says my shift is and I have another job to keep me occupied at workdays. I have no one to rely on, I have to pay my rent, I have to pay for groceries and…" she sighed "and having a boyfriend is something that I cannot afford to have distracting me."

Natsu was sitting in silence, eyes fixed on Lucy who now looked quite desperate in her explanation

"With you… you are just that type of guy who would monopolize his girlfriend and demand for her to be around, available and honestly to me you just look like that "just another Casanova" that wants to have girl and then break up after he gets tired of her… I can't afford that kind of heartbreak… not anymore."

"You don't even know me and you say what I am" Natsu spoke, rather loud, voice filled with anger

"How many girls did you sleep with this year alone?" She quickly asked, interrupting him

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, and rules of the game state that you have to be honest. How many?"

Natsu took a bit pause, he was to avoid this subject but Lucy didn't budge and she glared at him, piercing right through his brain and into the back of his skull. "Nine…" he finally responded in silent tone

"And I am not going to be your tenth girl just so you can fill your quota" she said and stood up, preparing to leave

"Wait! Wait… alright, let's say dating is off the table, how about at least we start as friends? Would that be better?"

"Why would you want to be friends with me and what do I have from being friends with you?" Lucy crossed her arms, frowning at him heavily.

"Who are you doing your assignments with?"

"That's…" she paused "none of your business…"

"it is in fact because I believe you have to do it with someone and with what you said I am guessing you have… five maybe six friends at best and not all are in classes you picked so you are working with random girls"

He didn't miss target so far… she returned to the seat and continued looking at him

"You are smart girl Lu, you are hardworking and not very social… how many are abusing all this to get good grade while you do all the work?"

"Not all are like that…" she said in low tone

"Not all. Those smart girls already work with other smart girls and guys and you are left with that rotten few that are riding on your back while you are doing their work and they get good grade. You can't stop because you'll be out of the group of people willing to work with you so you go along with it, all for the greater good."

Lucy frowned heavily, her lips pressed hand and she bit inside of it. Every word he said so far was true, every word hit it's mark perfectly to a point where the very realization of what he said is making her feel less and less like student and more like a laughing topic.

"Where are you going with this?" She asked, trying to keep herself composed and not to allow the emotion of pure sadness to emerge on the surface

"I am not as smart as you, I know that, but I am not lazy. You allow me to be your friend, and I'll work with you on those assignments. We share most of the classes, you point me what I can do and we both share working on it, we both get credit for it and you can forget the bitches that are riding on your back to get good grades for cheap."

"What's the catch?" She asked quickly

"Catch?"

"Yes catch. If a girl hears a story that is too good to be true… it ain't. So what's the catch Natsu?"

"There isn't one. I am just asking you to at very least start trusting me a bit more before you start judging me for who you think I am rather than for who I really am."

She sighed, again… all this sounded as good as it was rotten. Small voice in her head constantly screamed not to take up on the offer, knowing that there is in fact a catch but the fact that Natsu helped her working on the Yeats made her also think that he could be useful and helpful on other assignments. The thought of actually not having to do everything herself sounded so great in her head, it would make her life a bit easier.

"Alright Natsu, but if you break your end of the deal I'll personally ask Gajeel to visit you"

"Deal" he smiled wide and took out his wallet, placing 2000 jewels bill on the table and stood from his chair "Keep the change"

He was on the way out but halfway he stopped and returned and leaned toward Lucy

"Oh and you were wrong about one thing"

"And which one is that?"

"That you would never go out on a date with me"

"I won't"

"You just did" he chuckled and winked

"What do you mean I just did?" she glared at him

"Think about it… we were sitting for… good ten minutes? In a sweets shop. We talked, we got to know each other a bit more and we ended being more than we actually were before I walked in. This was a date, like it or not Lu" and with that he winked again and walked out, leaving her completely speechless to sit on the chair. Small voice in her head constantly singed "I told you so" but it was way too late to change her mind.

"Soooo how did it go?" Nea came and sat on the chair where Natsu was

"How did what go?"

"You know… you and him… did you kiss?"

"What? No, come on will you please stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Nea asked slightly confused

"That… connecting every guy that walks as my boyfriend or potential boyfriend" Lucy rubbed her temples, the strain of conversation with Natsu has finally kicked in and headache emerged

"Well he is kinda cute, don't you think?" To this, Lucy had no answer, she wanted to respond but whatever answer she would give would be wrong one so instead she took a moment to remember his face.

"I guess…"