A/N: Wow it took me long enough to make this update. A lot of things happened, things I am not yet sure where to put in my head but slowly fixing them. As for the stories... well they are here and waiting to be concluded. This one won't end soon.. I realized that I wrote 25 chapters and still haven't reached halfway through the story. Yep... I hate myself...

Loud whistle filled the court. Players immediately changed formation and within no more than two seconds were ready. Whistle blew again and entire formation fell apart… or so it appeared to untrained eye. Every step, every turn made by players was well planned and executed with almost mathematical precision and that entire dance made coach grin. For the past week everything seemed to fall well into place for him, starting from private life right up to the court not to mention players seemed to fall into line everytime he shouted… especially those most problematic ones.

"Faster!" Elfman shouted right before he blew into whistle again "Foster, Burton, front and center! Dragneel, Fullbuster on the bench, take five!"

Pair moved with quick pace from the field sat down on one of the benches. It was one hard practice that coach Elfman put them all through and Gray was already visibly exhausted. His mouth was open, panting heavily as he wiped his forehead with back of his hand. Natsu on the other hand, though tired, was nowhere close being drained as his friend. Of course he was panting, of course he was bathed in sweat but his expression simply gave away the feeling that he can give more.

"I am beat…" Gray commented, looking over at pinkette "You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Natsu replied, sporting a grin.

"Because you look like you are training to run a marathon around the globe."

"I have enough for Elfman and enough to spare." Natsu chuckled and in this gesture Gray joined in equal measure.

"It's good to see you motivated again."

"Just needed some time to collect thoughts and find my inner 'old me'. Find my inspiration." Natsu chuckled, looking across the court. His eyes lingered on each of the players currently being whipped into new definition of shape by Elfman. "I remember what it is. I decided to go to big league, become professional and stand on the top."

Gray smiled and with right hand patted Natsu on his shoulder. This indeed sounded like old Natsu, one that he knew, one that he could trust to make all the wrong decisions and still not regret one bit. Perhaps, just perhaps, things might return to the old. Whistle blew again, long and hard and just as loud voice followed "That's enough for today, hit the showers!"

"Oh boy…" Gray commented in low defeated tone "Sadist is cutting practice short again."

"What are the odds he is taking pity on us?" Natsu asked, each word sounded more like annoyed grumble.

"Same as me becoming queen of the world."

"Mrs. Strauss is probably responsible for this… Someone is gonna be happy tonight and we are gonna suffer tomorrow." Natsu concluded and stood up. Good or bad, there was always excuse for coach Elfman to make extra rough training. If he has bad day, they are first to know that, if he has good day, they are first to know. Difference between these two days is that on good days, he fluctuates between regular and relaxed practice right up to short but rough ones and all for the benefit of the players. They hated him for it but they couldn't complain with results since it was 50% their effort and 50% his strategies that won games. Today's short practice meant that next practice will be longer in order to compensate.

Gray scowled as he looked down on his own stomach. Finger went over mark, blue and purple in color, not larger than 5 centimeters in diameter and as he touched it he winced. This was his own fault… well, Natsu's too but mostly Gray's fault for attempting to catch him at full speed. It wasn't collision that made the bruise, it was the fall. Today was Natsu's day and Gray knew that Natsu is good but he never wanted to openly admit this to him. Not because of his pride, it was Natsu's pride that made him worried and it will haunt him for the rest of studies in form of pinkette holding this over his head.

"Wow… man that looks nasty." Natsu commented as he stood before Gray, bowed down to look at large bruise. He may be idiot sometimes but he is not ignorant idiot "Who would do such a thing to you?"

"Up yours cinder-brain." Gray growled as he turned on shower, letting cold water fall down on him.

"Want me to kiss it better?"

"Kiss me and I'll end you."

"No sense of humor." Natsu teased as he turned off his shower. "I'll wait for you outside."

Yea… that is old asshole… Gray thought with slight smirk as he washed himself from the soap. Torment be damned, it is moments like this that made him feel as if everything will fall into its place. Hard training followed by a stream of water that washed the sweat and exhaustion away. Sometimes, stagnation it key to bliss. It didn't took him long to finish drying himself and he was on his way out when he noticed Natsu outside of locker room, leaned against the wall with eyes wandering around the hallway where students passed by. Day was hot. Summer will come soon and yet they all had a demo version with just a little bit of content of what they are to expect. Unbuttoned shirts and ever-rising scent of perfumes coming from students… girls in particular.

"You seem busy." Gray commented as he approached pinkette, making him snap out of thoughts and direct gaze toward his friend with shirt half-buttoned and bag over his shoulder.

"Just browsing a bit. I just figured out that it's been long since I had good unwind."

"And in your case, unwind means having to wake up in unknown bed with unknown girl, no memories and no regrets." Gray grinned after Natsu nodded with wide smile on his face. His eyes looked up, now mimicking Natsu's previous action. "You do realize you're being watched?"

"I am?" Natsu asked quizzically.

"To the left. Long brown hair." Gray glanced over to one particular student and then back at Natsu who took a long look at her. He wasn't wrong and girl, upon meeting his gaze just smiled and waved slightly with left hand.

"Oh right, I know her." Pinkette commented.

"Who is she?"

"My unwind." Natsu winked at him and moved along, followed by a "You are a pig!" comment coming from Gray. Hand moved through his hair to fix few wild locks and he approached girl in question who sported brighter smile as pinkette moved closer. "Cute look and sweet smile, you must be a cupcake." He said his soft voice and eyes brimming with desire.

Girl just giggled at his comment "That is your pick-up line?"

"Is it working?"

"Kinda." She said as she looked up at him "Maybe."

"Then it's my pick up line." He said with pride in his voice "Name's Natsu."

"I know." She added "I've been seeing you on court. I am Nicole."

"Cute name for a cute girl, I got it right from the start." Natsu added which only made girl giggle a bit more. All the signs were there for him to notice. Facing him directly with smile, subtle moves of her hand that moved through her hair and how she tried to make herself just a little bit taller by stretching up. She was very much interested in him and he knew this.

"That's sweet of you." She responded with faint blush on her cheeks "So, I am guessing you are free?"

"Depends. If you catch me, I will become unavailable." He added. Smile was still present on his face and look in eyes turned into one seen in a predator. He was hunter and she was the prey.

"Oh, hold on a sec." Nicole said, pulling out her phone that started beeping. She groaned, disfiguring face, followed by a deep sigh of displeasure.

"Something wrong?" Natsu asked.

"It's my dad. Brother's birthday is next week and he forgot if he wanted PlayStation or Xbox. Ugh, I can't deal with this now."

Natsu's smile slowly began disappearing as he listened to her "Yeah, it's a big deal. Some people have it rough." He sarcastically commented.

"Tell me about it." She responded, making him raise eyebrow. Has she not recognized his tone? Is she serious about this?

"No, I mean, some people can't even afford such luxury." Natsu added again.

"Well we aren't them." Nicole said and opened her book. On the top side of the page she wrote number and tore it from the page, handing it to Natsu. "Why don't you give me a call sometime?"

"You bet." Natsu said, curving his lips up into a smile. She winked at him and turned, walking away. All the time, he kept looking at her, face frozen in same expression as fingers slowly turned piece of paper between his fingers. As soon as she was out of his sight he pressed fingers hard, crumbling the piece of paper, throwing it straight into can.

"Things went wrong?" Gray said as he approached, noticing Natsu's action.

"Nope, things went smooth." He said calmly.

"So… why did you throw away her number?"

"Because her biggest issue in life is what type of console they are going to buy to their little spoiled brat, failing to realize that some people actually are barely managing." Natsu sighed, deeply. Hand that previously crumbled small piece of paper now ran through his hair "Honestly, I cannot involve myself with that kind of person."

Gray chuckled, rather loud. All this has been incredibly amusing to him, especially realization that Natsu haven't exactly returned to his old self, but that didn't exactly turned out to be a bad thing.

"So you mean to tell me that girl practically threw herself at you, giving you no reason to put an actual effort to lure her to bed and still you said no because… she is inconsiderate?"

"Oh shit…" Natsu commented as he himself realized what he has done.

"I would like to compare you to a butterfly but you are more of a moth." Gray added, still chuckling and watching as Natsu pace around him with hands moving across his face.

"Geez, thanks for the compliment…"

"It is a compliment. Moths represent change and growth. They start as caterpillars and from those ugly bodies, beautiful creature emerges. Like moth, you yourself have evolved from an asshole to a human-like asshole."

"Shut up…" Natsu groaned loud, standing in front of Gray "Can't you see that I am in pain?"

"Oh what kind of imaginary pain do you feel now, princess?"

"The pain of having to use my hand! Fuck… I am starting to hate myself…"

"Wow. I never realized Lucy managed to make such hard imprint on you." Gray added, still having his smile on the face "Look, this is not a bad thing. It just means you actually are starting to mature and develop certain standards as opposed to being general scumbag with no ethical limits."

He took another big sigh. All this became all too familiar to Gray and in a sense he felt some sympathy toward Natsu. He remembers well how it was last time when Natsu was broken and that was something he is not eager to remember. No… it is something Gray knew Natsu loathed remembering and for the good part of this entire ordeal he felt as if Natsu will sink into that ocean of despair. There was one girl that managed to shatter him completely and pinkette was in worst of mood for months. He feared this might turn out to be first of the stages toward that same end… mostly because how things ended with Lucy is similar how it ended with other one. Perhaps he learned enough to avoid it.

"You still hadn't talked to Lucy?" Gray asked and to his expectation, Natsu waved head.

"I don't know if I should. I mean… I want to but at the same time I don't want to either."

"You can't avoid her for the rest of the studies."

"I know… I know… plus I made that promise to help her for her projects and…" Natsu suddenly became nervous. It just occurred to him that if she is to completely ignore him, she will have to revert to previous partners who would once again completely abuse her. The very thought of it infuriated him. Maybe he has changed.

"Just don't wait too long." Gray said and took a step the left, trying to walk around Natsu but pinkette made same step, once again standing in front of Gray. Well this is nothing unusual, happens all the time. Gray then took step to the right and pinkette mimicked him perfectly yet again. Is he teasing him? Doesn't look like it; there is no smug grin on his face. Slowly he tilted head to the left and to no surprise, Natsu mimicked that motion as well. Out of pure instinct, Gray turned head, looking over his shoulder and there he managed to spot a very familiar blonde student. Slowly, he moved head forward to look at Natsu, realizing that he is not teasing him… he is hiding.

"You need to talk to her, now." Gray said.

"You told me that. I know, ok?" Natsu responded with slightly heightened voice to show his annoyance but quickly he calmed down "I just… think she might need a bit more time to cool down."

"If she is anything like I think she is, cooling down won't help. You need to resolve this issue so just go over there and talk to her."

"Right…" Natsu said as he took deep breath and exhaled long through his mouth. Anxiety was present and hitting him strong as he started walking toward her, every step was heavier than previous one, tightening the knot in his stomach. His palms were already moist from the sweat and throat decided that it is just right time to become as dry as a desert.

"Hey…" He said as he stood behind her, still keeping bit of distance. Lucy turned around and looked at him.

"Hey." She responded with completely neutral expression. There was no smile, no frown, not a single bit of emotion present on her face and it scared him.

"So… good time to talk?"

"About?"

"Well I… kinda figured you needed some space-"

"You thought correctly." Lucy cut in, still glaring at him with her brown eyes.

"I just want to fix things…"

"There is nothing to fix, Natsu. Nothing is broken."

"You know what I mean…"

"What is it that you really want, Natsu?" Lucy asked, turning herself completely to face him, finally showing some form of emotion and it was anything but happy one.

"A chance."

"For what? So you can repeat same thing and send me into another day of self-doubt? I told you, I can handle myself well and I do not need you to rescue me."

"I am not here to rescue you, I just…" He stopped, looking around as he became even more nervous "I just want things to be… normal."

"There has never been 'normal' with you. Honestly I do not even know which one is normal Natsu. Is it one who will try everything to have sex with me or one who pretends not to?"

"You may not believe me but I am not all about sex." Natsu interjected "And you may also not want to believe me but I really do want to restore our friendship. I am not asking you to trust me, I just want a chance to prove that I want to be your friend. Just friend."

Lucy kept looking at him. Inner struggle was raging strong. She dared not believe him, even though his face may have been telling the truth she knew well not to trust such people. There is no way that he is telling the truth… in the end, he is just another good liar. Actor, proficient in his art, eager to trick, eager to deceive and all for audience to see and believe. Maybe he is all that, maybe he is just another person whose motives are going only as far as to fulfill his own desire… and yet… the small voice in her head kept telling otherwise. What if he is not lying? That small sliver kept poking her. He is so much like him but he never looked back. He never once called after things fell apart… and yet, Natsu is. Why does he desire so much to be beside her? Has she not proved herself to be broken person?

Desire… there is a way to end this torment.

"Come after nine tonight." Lucy said, face showing signs of defeat.

"What?" Natsu asked, suddenly struck unprepared.

"After class, I have to go to work…" Lucy explained, letting out deep sigh "You know where my house is. Come after nine."

She said nothing more and simply walked away, not even once looking back. She found a way out, not perfect, but one that might end this nightmare… and she already hated herself for what she is to do. As soon as she was far enough to leave his sight, she was joined by another person, one that she actually enjoyed spending time with.

"Hey Lu." Levy said as she walked by her friend "I saw you talking to Natsu, everything alright?"

"Sort of." Lucy responded with small smile but bluenette knew it was not the happy one.

"I know that smile… What did you do?"

"Nothing." Lucy said but as soon as she looked at Levy she knew that it will not be end of discussion… Levy will press on until she gets her answer "I told him to come after nine."

"Ok and once he shows up?"

"Once he comes I will give him what he wants." Lucy said, this time in more decisive voice but not without a clear hatred for herself.

"Which is…?"

"He wants to have sex with me right? So I will give him that and he can leave me alone."

"Are you insane?" Levy rushed to stand in front of her, making blonde stop in her tracks "That is not the answer to the problem."

"I already have enough issues and I cannot concentrate on studies with him constantly shadowing me." Lucy sighed deeply, hiding her face in hands "I am tired, Levy… I am exhausted from everything… from work, from college… life is exhausting me and I need one less problem on my mind. If this is going to solve one part of it then I'll do it."

"It is still not the answer." Levy repeated, frowning heavily at her friend.

"And what should I do?"

"Talk to him. At least try, you have nothing to lose at this point and he just might not turn out to be worst person in your life."

"It's a bit late for that… Look, I know what you are trying to do and I am thankful for it but I have made up my mind. Sooner I am done with it, sooner I can forget about him…"

"Lucy…" Levy said in soft tone "He is not Sean. You have to forget about him."

"How can I forget when I am being reminded every time I look at Michelle?" Lucy asked, her voice trembling.

"I am not saying you have to forgive him. They are two different people and what they did is incomparable. It was just a bet, one that he made without thinking but… he hasn't done anything bad since. I am saying… just try."

"Why are you helping him?" Lucy asked as she swallowed hard.

"I am not helping him, I am helping you." Levy said, moving a bit closer, taking her left hand into hers "You know how hard it is to watch you walk around every day with weight on your shoulders without having a way to actually help you?"

"You are already helping me." Lucy smiled down at her. Warmth of Levy's hand was one of the few things that could always comfort her, knowing well that she can trust her… more than anyone else.

"Babysitting is not enough. Just try, he might surprise you."

"I doubt it." Lucy said. It was the truth, she really did doubt that anything good with come out of her trusting him but it was also truth that everything was catching up with her. Jobs became more demanding, exhausting and money earned just barely covered expenses. With constant pursue to get high grades and keep scholarship, it really felt as if everything is ready to crush her down into small cube. With all that came realization that she didn't really believed Natsu would stop pestering her even after he gets what he wants… so why did she suggest it? She hoped that it will at least be revealed to her when time comes… question is… will she endure it?