Astronomy had always been Lucy's favorite class. There were pictures stuck to her fridge of the telescopes over Mauna Kea, alongside ones of the Observatory at the Canary Islands. It had always been a dream of hers to visit, one that could let her leave behind what she had and start something far better.

She knew, though, that it would never be her profession. Lucy didn't like the stars in the way that she calculated them; she liked them in the way that she wanted to be them. They were so distant, yet so beautiful. Everyone would stare at her, admire her, yet not become too obsessed, so that when morning came, she was alone at peace again.

That was her dream. If she were in grade school and had written "a star" down on her "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?" paper, her teacher would have sighed and told her that being famous would be a bit tricky. That wasn't exactly her idea of stardom.

Astronomy class was nearly over. Her professor had finished his lecture and left the notes up on his board for anyone to finish copying. Lucy had already done her share, of course, and looked around the room after closing her laptop.

There was a very polite looking white haired girl Lucy had talked to occasionally. She had short hair, sharing a similar interest in the night sky as Lucy. It was nice, and Lucy felt comfortable around her. But she was not here today, so Lucy kept watching.

An orange haired man leaned back in his chair, swaying softly. He would occasionally look back and throw Lucy a wink. His flirtation was obvious, but as soon as he left the room there were more females for him to feast his eyes upon. Most people Lucy knew would've found him humorous. She found him to be old, like she had dealt with him all her life and was ready for something new.

She found herself staring at him anyway. Lucy felt her chest heating up as if she had just gotten an awful heartburn. Even if they talked, she felt she knew him her forever. Maybe he reminded her of her family; those who watched only for a moment while it benefitted them before moving on. Those who used her only when they felt like it.

Lucy's heart finally calmed down, itching to see Natsu again. He would either make the feeling go away, or it would only burn more. She didn't care. She just needed to feel.

Her next class was assumed to be no better. Lucy had become one to prepare for the worst. Yet she opened up the door, an immediate mass of red and pink hair catching her eye, she didn't know what to think.

Lucy had never seen Natsu in any of her classes before. He was meant to be the stranger at her apartment, and that had already been ruined when they met. He seemed to make her whole world crumble down further as she saw him sitting in a chair beside the red haired woman who lived in the same apartment building.

Natsu and the redhead hadn't noticed her until she stepped a few feet inside. His eyes were down, more than likely looking at his phone or something as he swished side to side in boredom. Erza was beside him, tapping away a laptop.

The dark eyes lifted up casually, widening he made out the familiar face. He sat up in his chair and waved her over. "Lucy!"

She smiled softly, looking down at the floor as she walked up a few stairs to their seat. She stood beside him, tugging at the strap of her messenger back to keep her busy. "I didn't know you took Statistics."

"Statistics? Is this a math class?" Natsu's face pale, speaking almost angrily as he turned to the redhead. "Why the hell would he ask me to takes for him then?"

The redhead grunted, her polite way of saying 'shut up.' Lucy didn't know what else to do other than stand there awkwardly. She was about to turn away and grab a seat, but Natsu finally swiveled his chair back in her direction and smiled quirkily.

"I don't take Statistics..." Natsu said slowly, the word itself foreign to him. "Me and Erza don't have class for the rest of the day and our friend has a cold, so he asked us to take notes for him."

Lucy nodded. She couldn't help but smile as she saw his. It was bright, it was lopsided, and it looked absolutely childish. She couldn't understand why she liked it so much. Natsu cleared his throat, nudging the chair at Lucy's side out a bit as a gesture for her to sit.

Thankful she didn't have to ask, Lucy pulled out the chair and slipped into it. She pulled her laptop out of her bag, setting it on the table. From her peripherals, Natsu gave her a few awkward looks before peering over his shoulder. "Am I the only one without a laptop here?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah." She said simply.

Natsu was still amazed that he someone seemed to be the oddball. Lucy sighed quietly at him, opening up her notes for the class. The redhead on the other side of Natsu finally tore her eyes from her computer and gave Lucy a quizzical look.

"You live in our apartment building, don't you?" She asked, resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. "I know I've seen you there."

The words must have pulled Natsu from his attention-deficit-disorder-like trance, making him swivel in his chair again to look at her. "Yeah, Lucy lives on the same floor as you."

Their comfortableness around her only made her feel the opposite. She felt like they were childhood best friends, and she was someone who joined a little too late. "I think I have seen you before." Lucy admitted. There was the redhead who lived next to her, and they would see each other every night while Lucy was walking inside and her neighbor was just leaving.

The mystery ginger now had a name to her face, and Lucy's world of silent understanding was further falling apart. Erza. It was a pretty name, too. The beauty only made her more rattled. She wasn't sure what was more upsetting; the fact that things were changing, or the fact that things were so much more beautiful than she thought.

Erza nodded, pushing her hands over her head to pat at the flyaway strands that escaped her otherwise sleek ponytail. Once everything was in place yet again, she turned back and immersed herself in note-taking for her sick friend.

Class had started by now, and Lucy was surprised Natsu hadn't fallen asleep yet. It wasn't much to her surprise, either, that he pulled a vending machine sized bag of cheese crackers from his pocket.

The only sound in the room was the aged and tired voice of their professor and pitter of typing. Lucy's skin crawled as Natsu opened up his plastic bag. The noise filled the room, keeping the bag under the table so the instructor didn't see. Erza turned to him, jabbing her elbow into his side to get him to shut up.

Natsu shrugged innocently, looking over his shoulder as if to blame others for being so loud. No one in the room bought it, including the professor; all eyes turned to him, narrowing plainly and unamused. Natsu's face reddened as he leaned back into his seat.

Lucy couldn't help but shake her head. She felt embarrassed to be beside him. Perhaps it made her an awful friend, but she hated the attention, even if it was just for being around him. Her face was just as red as his before everyone looked away and she could feel herself breathe again.

"Sorry." Natsu gave her a silly smile. Something told Lucy that he was apologizing her simply since he was too scared of Erza. As he shoved a handful of food in his mouth, he didn't look too sorry.

Lucy nodded, trying to be polite but quickly regarding him before turning to her computer screen again. Natsu must have noticed her uneasiness, his smile fading as he turned to the speaker as well.

Time seemed to escape her. She had immersed herself in her work. Lucy was raised to be studious. There was no denying math wasn't her favorite, but she needed the grades fro her own sanity over anything else. It must have been at least a half an hour before she felt Natsu nudging her under the table.

She looked over, feeling his leg nudge against hers. Natsu had a small smile on his face, yet his eyes were still on the speaker at the front of the room. Lucy turned back to her laptop as she felt her face redden with heat.

Natsu was flirting with her. Just a subtle touch, a simple gesture, went so far. Lucy's body tensed up as she moved away from him. She liked it when she didn't know him, when she could imagine him to be dense and oblivious. The only part of him she pegged correctly was his absolute boldness.

She could see Natsu frowning from the corner of her eye. Had she upset him? Of course she had. She doubted he was thinking the same. He didn't care if he upset her, no one ever did. Lucy took a deep breath and kept typing, though the words were a blur to her.

Focus was impossible. Lucy heard everything, saw everything, but nothing made it further than that. When Natsu was in the room, the only thing in her mind was his smile.

Erza was the first to part ways. She had packed up her computer and said her goodbyes after informing then of her job at 8-Island that she needed to be at. Lucy gave her a warm smile, watching the mass of smooth red hair depart along with the rest of the class.

Packing up her own belongings, Lucy quickly gathered herself and pulled away from the room. She didn't want to be there any longer. She could still feel Natsu's touch against her leg. She could still see his smile each time she closed her eyes. His laugh rang in her ears. Why did she ever want this?

"Lucy!" Natsu stood up after her, jogging down the steps. He struggled to catch up with her as she briskly walked away. "Wait up!"

Even the excited way he popped the word "up" made Lucy whine to herself. His footsteps tapped loudly behind her as they walked outside.

The air met them harshly, snapping them with wind at first before they finally got used to the autumn chill. Lucy sighed and tugged her scarf tightly around her, not looking at Natsu as he walked beside her.

"I'm sorry if I upset you back there." Natsu said. His apology seemed so genuine. Lucy wanted a reason to hate him other than her own messed up ideas, yet he gave her nothing.

Lucy shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I was just surprised, that's all." It was the truth, but a fraction of it. Scared would have better summed it up.

"Would you be surprised if we went to that café by our apartment building later today?" Natsu asked. His face was plan, simply waiting for her to respond no matter what her answer was.

She panicked. No one often asked her personal questions. Lucy always found those the hardest ones; studying yourself was far more difficult than reading any book. She must have been quiet for too long, as Natsu moved them off the sidewalk and leaned against the brick wall of the building, Lucy trapped between his body and the structure at her back.

Her brown eyes widened up at him as he placed his hand beside her head. The cuff of his sleeve brushed her ear. She felt like she was back on the bus with him, trapped under his protection from the outside world. His breath came out in puffs, visible like dragon's steam in the cold air.

Natsu leaned in more. She could feel his lips come closer to hers, the warmth from his spreading to hers through the thin space between them. His black eyes were staring at her mouth. Sweat beaded throughout Lucy's body. The claustrophobic feeling returned.

"I don't like when people touch me." Lucy murmured. She slid away from him, ducking her head to avoid the dejected look on his face. She tugged her bag over her shoulder and kept walking.

I know I just met you. Lucy's breath came in ragged patterns, her feet shuffling over the sidewalk as she went. Her legs felt weak, but she knew she was practically running home. Her eyes felt tired, yet they stared at the street ahead of her for so long they burned. So why do I feel like I can't function without you?

She looked over her shoulder. Natsu still stood against the wall, his arm leaning against the bricks and his head hung, ready the kiss the ghost of the girl who was never entirely there.

Nalu Lemon Novel
Exy Koroleva © 2016
Thank you for reading.
Some triggering scenes
to be included, so please
do not report. Comments
& votes are appreciated.