AN: Big thanks to those who reviewed and everything. You guys are AWESOME!
Chapter Four
Natsu had always assumed that asking a girl out would be simple; however, according to Lucy, there was more to it than 'just asking her!' The way he would ask her apparently mattered, and the blonde further insisted that intricacies such as body language could make a difference in Lisanna's response. This was all much too complicated for Natsu, so Lucy ended up reviewing all they had gone over the night before in the ten minutes between classes; it hardly felt like enough time, but the pair had to work with what they had.
"Stay still." Lucy asserted as they walked down the hall, reaching over to adjust the collar of his shirt; the pink haired boy immediately swatted her hand way,
"C'mon, Lucy. She already thinks I look nice-"
The blonde gave him a critical glance, "She said that weeks ago, and I'm just making some last minute adjustments. If you would stop moving-"
"Ah—you're choking me-" Natsu sputtered, grabbing her hands, so that she would release her grip on his scarf. The blonde, as if just realizing what she was doing, immediately started laughing at the look on Natsu's face, and she slowly pried her hands out of his grasp.
"I'm sorry. You do- You look good enough." She chuckled as the pink haired boy now adjusted his own uniform, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.
"Yeah, now I look good enough, now that we've tried to kill me."
Lucy waved her hand dismissively, "Look, there's not much time left. I mean, you want to focus on asking out Lisanna, right?"
"You were the one focusing on other things." Natsu mumbled under his breath, but a warning glance from Lucy prompted him to add, "Right!"
"Okay," She said enthusiastically, "Make sure to be polite! And compliment her!"
"Compliment her?" He said as if this were a foreign concept, "Should I start with that or just throw it in somewhere?"
"Don't just throw it in somewhere. Maybe start with that. Yeah! Like, 'hey, your hair looks nice today,' or 'your eyes are beautiful,' or 'your lips are really full'—Actually, don't say that last one."
"O-okay!" Natsu exclaimed; although, the blonde observed that he appeared genuinely confused. She decided that they'd return to the topic later. Suddenly, Natsu froze, and the blonde turned to see that familiar redhead standing before them. Lucy, thinking quickly, immediately switched to giving him tips regarding geometry, and she noticed that Natsu's expression of confusion was now oddly fitting.
"Hello, Natsu. Lucy." Erza greeted them, nodding her approval; the redhead noted that it was becoming increasingly rare to see either of them without the other, and she casually walked into an empty classroom, closing the door behind her. Lucy watched this, looking in the general direction in confusion, but she quickly chocked it up to class presidential duties, continuing on her way to class.
"Alright, so be polite." She said, returning her attention to Natsu, "Compliment. Eye contact— Make sure there's enough, but not too much."
"So like this?" Natsu asked, looking at Lucy then looking away from her repeatedly; it was so awkward, they both started laughing.
"No, not like that." Lucy chuckled, grabbing Natsu so he stood right in front of her. She looked directly into his eyes for a few moments before slowly looking away, "A little like this."
"Oh, that's good."
"I know! I-"
"Hey, Lucy," A girl with long, black hair suddenly called out, interrupting the pair; her voice dripped in venom, "I thought I heard you found a boy toy to give you attention since your daddy won't even look at you."
"That's interesting, Minerva. I heard you finally got over your intimacy issues, but it only took eight guys, right?" Lucy snapped back. The dark haired girl glared daggers at the blonde before storming off.
"Damn, Lucy." Natsu said, looking at the blonde approvingly, "You can be a pretty scary."
"Yeah, well," Lucy shrugged; however, for the rest of the break, she appeared to be rather distracted, so that by the time the bell rang, Natsu felt as unprepared as ever. He desperately wished for another ten minutes.
"You got this, Natsu." Lucy said as they reached her classroom door.
"Yeah, thanks." He replied unenthusiastically.
"Hey," The blonde said seriously, and she looked directly into his eyes, "It's do or die, right? And you always seem to make it work in these kind of situations. Plus, we've been rehearsing all day."
"Yeah, you're right." He sighed, "You know, maybe if I asked her out in some sort of life threatening situation, I wouldn't be so nervous."
Lucy laughed, "You have this whole romance thing down."
"That's what I've been telling you." He grinned, and Lucy shook her head, still chuckling as she patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"I have to go to class, but I'll see you later." She suddenly stopped as she stood in the doorway, pointing directly at Natsu, "Try not to kill Lisanna while you're asking her out."
"Well, I'd like her alive for our date." He said casually, and Lucy stifled a laugh as she walked into her classroom.
Several, long moments later, Natsu stood outside the door to his own classroom, hyperaware of Lisanna's presence there, and he felt his stomach knot at the thought. Suddenly, he remembered what Lucy had said about making it work, and he supposed she was right. He was, after all, impulsive, reckless, and able to think on his feet; however, none of this ever seemed to apply to Lisanna. With her, Natsu overthought everything he said, and he sometimes found that he had difficulty speaking about relatively simple topics, such as the weather. For some reason, he felt that it should all be easier, but he immediately disregarded the thought. Hesitantly, Natsu turned the doorknob, and he was greeted by the usual, boisterous classroom. Lisanna was already there, of course, standing a few feet away, and without another thought, he walked right up to her.
"Hi, Natsu!" Lisanna greeted him, "Still looking spiffy I see."
The pink haired boy blushed, "Yeah—I—Can I talk to you alone for a second?"
"Yeah, sure." Lisanna replied, looking slightly confused, "What about?"
Instead of answering, Natsu awkwardly led the girl to a quiet corner of the room, so that they would not be overheard. As he did this, he desperately tried to remember anything Lucy told him, and his mind raced with information regarding body language, facial expressions, tone, compliments-
"So, uh—you're eyes are full." Natsu said when they finally reached their destination.
"Huh?"
"N-nothing. Nothing." Natsu replied, having completely lost the ability to compliment someone. "I—Uh-"
"Are you okay?" Lisanna asked with concern, "You look like you might be coming down with something."
"I'm fine," He replied, "I j-just wanted to… uh-"
"Natsu, I have to get back-"
"Wouldyouliketowatchamovietongiht?" He blurted out finally, and the white haired girl raised an eyebrow.
"What was that?"
"Would y-you like to watch a movie tonight?"
"Tonight?" Lisanna frowned, "On a Thursday?"
"Well, it's one day away from Friday." Natsu said, causing the girl to laugh.
"You're right. That does sound nice" She responded, and the pink haired boy sighed in relief. Suddenly, she added, "Oh, did you want to get the whole gang together? Because that would be great! It's so crazy that we've never hung out before."
Natsu looked at her in confusion, "The whole gang?"
"Yeah, like you, Lucy, Erza, Gray—you know, those people. It'll be so fun! What movie did you want to watch?"
He told her almost mechanically, staring emptily at the space before him, "The Tale of Hisui. At 6:30."
"Oh, I've been wanting to watch that!" She said enthusiastically, and the pink haired boy gave her a halfhearted smile.
"Yeah, I know."
"Awesome! I'll let everyone know. You don't have to worry about a thing, okay?"
Lisanna looked so pleased with her idea that Natsu didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise, "Okay."
After that, Natsu couldn't focus on class; in fact, he couldn't focus on anything at all, and by the time he had cleared his mind, the boy found that the classroom was completely empty. He looked up at the clock, seeing that it read 4:30PM. Class had already been out for an entire hour, and Natsu lazily slumped out of his seat; groaning that he had left his backpack in homeroom and now had to walk all he way there before leaving. Of course, it was only a few halls over, and the pink haired boy soon ambled into the empty classroom. He picked up his pace once he saw his bag on the other side of the room, excited that he could finally go home; however, the sounds of sniffling focused his attention on the girl sitting on the floor.
"Lucy?!" He exclaimed, and at this, the girl finally seemed to notice him, standing to her feet and subtly wiping her eyes.
"Oh, hey," She smiled, acting as if nothing was wrong. This façade quickly faded, however, and she dropped to the floor once more, covering her face with her hands. Natsu immediately took a step towards her.
"Hey, what's-"
"Just go!" She demanded, avoiding his concerned glances, "Leave!"
Natsu stared at the blonde awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. His eyes quickly darted to his backpack a few desks away, and he supposed she did tell him to leave. However, as his eyes fell back on the blonde in front of him, he felt of pang of something, and this feeling compelled him to stay. He sighed, seating himself next to the blonde and leaning his back against the wall.
"I'm involved now. I can't leave." He said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lucy shook her head, "You're such an idiot."
"I'm a lot of things." Natsu said simply, and the blonde laughed despite herself.
"So what's wrong?" He asked her, "You fail a test or something?"
"O-or something." She replied shakily.
"Luce," Natsu said gently, lightly patting her back, and with this simple gesture, the blonde started sobbing.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Why're you apologizing?" Natsu asked her, "You got nothing to be sorry about."
"You j-just got stuck with me—"
"I'm not stuck with you, Luce." He told her, and for some reason, this made her cry harder.
"I- I don't know why I'm crying like this. I'm sorry!" She said between sobs, "I was—It's just—Minerva-"
"Minerva?" His eyes narrowed, "Is this about what she said earlier?"
"No! Y-yes. No! I don't know. I mean, it's not just that. I saw her after school and—And it's like she knows exactly what to say to…" The blonde said, and she had a far off look on her face. Natsu, noticing this, simply patted her on the back reassuringly.
"So, what're you gonna do about it?" He asked after a few moments of silence.
"Huh?" Lucy looked up at him in confusion.
"Well, I've known you a while. Not long but a while, and you don't seem like the type to take things lying down."
"I do?"
"Yep." He said, and the blonde smiled, considering this, but as she realized the reality of the situation, she immediately shook her head.
"But I can't do anything. Her dad's in business with my dad, and my dad would kill me if I ruined one of his 'business relationships.' I mean—What could I do?"
"Well," Natsu nodded, "I got an idea."
The sound of something splattering against a window filled the empty street, and Lucy stood, transfixed at the sight. This sound occurred once again, and the blonde turned to Natsu as if to say 'are you sure?' He responded with a grin, and carefully, he placed an egg in her hand. After a two hour hiatus at a fast food restaurant, the pair had spent their entire night going from convenience store to convenience store, grabbing a few cartons of eggs from each as to not raise any suspicion, and here they were, hours later, standing in front of Minerva's house.
"C'mon!" Natsu urged her, "You can do this!"
Lucy stared at the egg in her hand with distrust, but Natsu's continued urging finally forced her to extend her arm and launch the egg towards the house. However, the egg only made it about halfway before falling pathetically on the lawn. Natsu burst out laughing at this, and even Lucy gave a begrudging smile.
"So lame." He chuckled, and the blonde's eyes narrowed.
"Because you're such an expert!"
"Just watch." He said proudly, throwing an egg, and as it hit the window, he confidently turned to the blonde, giving her an expectant look. Lucy sighed, awkwardly tossing another egg; however, this one barely passed the mailbox, and the blonde huffed in frustration.
"Here let me show you." Natsu grinned, and placing another egg in her hand, he stepped behind her, positioning her body so it aligned with his. Then, grabbing the back of her hand, he guided her arm in several, slow throws.
"Just like this." He said, his breath hitting Lucy's ear. She felt a chill run down her spine but quickly shook it off, stepping out of Natsu's grip.
"I think I got it." She smiled and turned towards the house. Using the form Natsu just showed her, she threw the egg, and a few seconds later, they both watched as it hit the middle of the front door.
"I did it!" She exclaimed, doing some sort of strange, victory dance.
"Yeah, you did!" Natsu laughed, watching as the blonde successfully launched another egg towards the house. She turned to him, signaling for him to join her, and soon, the pair launched carton after carton at the house. They became increasingly creative as they did this. Lucy, at one point, successfully launched an entire carton at the house in one throw, and Natsu somehow managed to hit doorway from the lawn across the street, even Lucy had to applaud him for that one.
"Alright, watch this," He grinned, extending his arm back as far as he could before he threw the egg, and as this happened, a window on the second floor suddenly opened.
"What's going—ah!" Minerva screamed as the egg hit her squarely in the face. Natsu turned to Lucy, stifling a laugh, and the blonde gave him a warning look. Suddenly, the sprinklers went off as Minerva shouted obscenities at the pair, and Lucy, unable to contain herself, burst out laughing.
"Scatter!" Natsu yelled, running off the lawn, and Lucy followed closely behind, now laughing hysterically. She even picked up a few empty egg cartons before Natsu pulled her away, causing her to drop them haphazardly on the grass.
"Oh, my god!" Lucy exclaimed as they rounded a corner a few blocks away, "I can't believe we did that!"
"Yeah," Natsu panted, looking up at her to grin, "You were great!"
"Thanks," She smiled, jumping in place, "That was just so awesome!"
Natsu chuckled and then shivered slightly, "Too bad we're soaked now."
"You know, I actually live a few streets over," Lucy said, hardly believing the words coming out of her mouth, "You can dry off there if you like."
"Are you sure? I mean, your parents won't be mad that you're bringing a guy over this late?"
"First off, you're not a 'guy.' You're just Natsu-"
"Gee, thanks."
"No, not like that. I mean, you're like an impartial third party in my love life not an actual component."
"I was just asking about your parents, not if I was a 'component in your love life.'" He said mockingly.
Lucy rolled her eyes, "It's fine. My dad's out on business. You can just dry off and go home."
"Alright, cool." Natsu nodded.
"What about you? You're parents aren't worried about you being out so late?"
"Nah." He said simply, and they left it at that.
A short while later, the pair stood in front of Lucy's house, and Natsu immediately realized the rumors of her wealth were true. As he walked through the ornate entryway, however, the pink haired boy couldn't help but notice that the house had a certain feeling of emptiness, and he wondered if I had something to do with Lucy being alone here while her father was 'on business.'
"Nice place." Natsu said awkwardly, examining the simple couch; a nightstand, next to it, held a clock, signaling that it was already 12:30AM.
"Yeah, it gets me by. You know," She replied, turning to examine the boy's clothes, "You're pretty soaked. Wait just a second!" She exclaimed, and she returned a few moments later, carrying a bundle of fabric in her arms. She passed these over to Natsu, "These are my dad's old clothes. The bathroom's down the hall if you want to change."
"Oh, thanks! Eh—you sure your dad won't mind about this? I don't want to get you in trouble."
"No, no. Like I said, he's away on business, so its fine." Lucy said offhandedly as she walked into, what was presumably, her bedroom, and Natsu merely shrugged, walking down the hall to change. He noted, as he walked in, that the bathroom appeared a little too clean, as if it hadn't been used for a long while, but he didn't contemplate this for too long, throwing on the clothes that Lucy lent him. Unfortunately, they were a few sizes too big, hanging loosely off his body, and as he walked back into the living room, Lucy laughed at the sight of him. Natsu disregarded this, lying beside Lucy on the couch as she adjusted her pajama pants.
"You look like a little kid." She chuckled.
"Well," Natsu shrugged as if it didn't matter and then turning to her seriously, he added, "Thanks for the dry clothes, Luce."
"Don't worry about it," She smiled, unsure of what to say next. The blonde was simply not used to having company over, "Do you—uh-Want something to drink?"
"I'm good." He yawned, stretching on the couch so that his legs extended over Lucy's. She pushed them off of her, shaking her head at him as she walked into the kitchen.
"You know how to make yourself comfortable." She commented, pouring herself a glass of water, and as she did this, she decided to pour one for Natsu as well, figuring he'd annoy her for one later anyways.
"It's a talent." She heard him reply lazily.
"I can see that." She said as she walked into the living room, stopping immediately at the sight before her. That is, Natsu was already sound asleep, sprawled across the couch, and Lucy chuckled. He really did know how to make himself comfortable. Setting down the glasses, the blonde gently placed a blanket over him, noticing how peaceful he looked—not at all like his usual boisterous self.
"Good night, Natsu." Lucy said softly as she turned out the lights, walking into her own bedroom.
AN: Again, I'm starting out my semester, so I'll update ASAP. Anyways, let me know what you think:)