The Cell Phone Swap #3
"This is Love and Lucky," Natsu grinned, his arm still hanging around her as he lead her to his promised restaurant for lunch.
Or, as he liked to call it, their first date.
The place was nothing fancy, in fact, it looked like a familiar restaurant. The scent of delicious, fast food filled Lucy's nostrils as they stood in front of the door. But what she liked to smell a little more was Natsu's fragrance, like fire and Fairy Tail. It was overwhelming, but she wasn't one to complain.
"It looks cool," Lucy commented.
"It is cool, Lucy!" Natsu cheered, grinning like a kid.
Lucy chuckled, shaking her head. "If you say so,"
"Let's go on!" Natsu said, leading her into the place. As she had guessed, a lot of families were strewn on different tables. There were only two couples alone on the corner.
For someone who tried to flirt all the time, Lucy would have guess he'd pick somewhere a little more… romantic.
It seemed she'd gotten the wrong idea.
A cute waitress walked up to them. Her eyes had wandered a little too long on Natsu, but as soon as she spotted Lucy, she stopped. It sent mixed feelings to Lucy, a bit of embarrassment for people thinking they were dating and a little joy, who knows why.
"Table for two," Natsu said, smiling.
"Alright then, follow me." the girl said, turning around and leading them upstairs.
The stares of various pairs of eyes fixed on them as they passed by.
Whispers like, "Isn't he Salamander?"
"Who is that girl with him? So lucky."
"She's with him only for the money,"
"I want him to draw over me."
And a lot more reached Lucy's ears. She tried to push them away, don't let them get to her. It was not the first time people criticized her by her looks, and she never was bothered by them. After all, she knew the truth about herself.
They went upstairs and sat at a little, pretty table next to the window. There wasn't much to see, just buildings and people and cars. It was in the middle of the city, after all.
Natsu even played gentleman, pulling her chair back and waiting for her to sit before going to his own.
"Oh," Lucy gasped, suddenly remember the matter that had lead them where they were now. She searched through her purse until she found the big, black cell phone and handed it to him. "There, so we won't forget again."
Natsu took it carefully, looking at her with wide, green eyes. He then chuckled, and handed her her own phone. She hugged it to her chest, sighing on relax. Finally.
"By the way," Natsu started. "That Yukino girl kept calling you all the time, you should call her back."
Lucy scrolled through her screen, to see, on fact, an endless list of unanswered calls from her friends. Well, at least he had the decency not to answer.
Lucy shifted her gaze between her company and the phone, considering his words. But she knew what she had to do, so she pulled it down and grinned at the pink haired man.
"I'll do it later,"
A grin made its way on his lips, "Great."
"By the way," Lucy sighed, licking her lips. She'd been thinking about it for the whole day, but with him sitting so close, it seemed so difficult. She played with the hem of her shirt, as he looked at her expectantly.
Well, she had nothing to lose now. She already lost her previous job, anyways.
"I wanted to apologize for being so rude to you," Lucy said quietly, her cheeks flaming as she avoided his gaze. "I had a pretty bad day when we bumped into each other, so…"
"It's all cool, Lucy!" Natsu laughed, effectively easing her nervousness. Why was she nervous to begin with? Natsu was a dork. A cute dork, on fact. "I wasn't mad at all. Besides, I may or may not have been a dick too, so we're even."
Lucy couldn't help but chuckle too, "We should start again,"
"I think so, too." Natsu grinned. "Hey there, I'm Natsu Dragneel, nice to meet you,"
She shook his hands, unable to stop the big smile on her face. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Lucy Heartfilia."
"Well Ms. Heartfilia, are you enjoying this now?" he asked amusingly.
Deciding to play in his game, she joked, "Well, of course, Mr. Dragneel."
"I must say a really good day is accompanying us today," Natsu put his chin on his hand, looking straight at her.
Pushing her shame aside, she mimicked his actions and tried to master up her most seductive glance. Who was she to deny the attractiveness of Natsu? And his good sense of humor, and his charms, and his pretty hair, and his easy personality. Maybe his flirty tries actually worked on her.
"I agree," she said. "Seems like we can spend a lovely lunch,"
The smirk Natsu sent her made it all worthy.
A cough interrupted the moment. "Sir, lady, what would you like to have?" the same waitress of before said.
"I'd like meat and fries and chicken and salad and two burgers." Natsu said.
Lucy coughed, watching him astonished. "Are you serious?"
"Why not?" he shrugged nonchalantly.
Lucy shook her head, "I'd like Caesar salad, thanks."
The woman nodded and left, without another word. Lucy put her bangs behind her ear, but annoyingly, it came back.
"Only that?" Natsu asked. "Aren't you going to be hungry after?"
Lucy rolled her eyes, sighing. "Not all of us have your endless stomach."
"Well, you have a point there," Natsu chuckled.
"Are you sure that Erza woman isn't going to find you?" Lucy asked, concerned for his well-being.
Natsu's skin got a little paler, but he dismissed her with his hand. "Of course not, I'm a ninja. She doesn't have to know."
"Everyone saw you leaving," Lucy pointed out, arching her left eyebrow.
"Don't worry, they're gonna be quiet. Nobody wants an angry Erza,"
"Is she really that scary?" Lucy bit back a chuckle. She couldn't imagine a woman who frightened a whole company. She must be terrifying.
"Well yeah, but she's pretty cool, actually," Natsu shrugged. "As long as you don't break the rules. Hey, where do you work, by the way? I think I've heard Heartfilia somewhere."
Lucy's face fell down. Her spirits crushed down, she slammed her head against the table, unconsciously scaring him. She scratched her hair with her hands, frustrated.
"Uh… Lucy? You okay?" Natsu asked, true concern on his voice.
"No…" she whined, looking up at him with a pout. "I'm a mess."
He frowned, leaning in closer to her. "Why?"
She bit her lip. She didn't feel like she knew him enough to ramble on him about her shitty life, but on the other side…
"My boss fired me yesterday," Lucy said. "Right before we met."
"That sucks," Natsu agreed. "He must be awful. Where did you work?"
"Sabertooth…" Lucy said, pursing her lips. After all, both Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were pretty known by their rivalry
"Now I understand. That Jiemma man is the worst. Why did you even work there?" Natsu asked, shaking his head.
"They called me… and since I had nothing else…" Lucy sighed.
"Why did they call you?" he frowned.
"Do you know the Kreuz clothes? Well, my dad owns its company."
"Are you kidding me? Then you're like, super rich. Why do you even have that phone?" Natsu widened his eyes.
"I… ran away," Lucy confessed. It was like a weight was lifted from her chest. Bottling it up for so long had destroyed her.
"You what?"
"I was tired of the lifestyle I had back there. So I just… ran away?" Lucy shrugged, letting out a bitter chuckle.
"Oh my God," Natsu said, and he laughed. "You had guts, uh. I like you more and more,"
"S-Shut up," Lucy said, trying to hide her furious blush.
"Why don't you come to Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked. "We could work together. And then, you could tell me the full story."
So he noticed she still had something else. It made her smile, nonetheless.
"But…"
"I'm sure you want to be more," Natsu smiled. "You can try at Fairy Tail. The pay's good, too."
Lucy gulped. "How are you so sure?"
His smile widened, and he took her hand in his. He squeezed it, filling her with a lovely warmth on her insides. "In Fairy Tail, we're all a family. We could never turn down someone. Have a little trust in me, will you?"
Lucy smiled, a little blush still adorning her cheeks. "Okay."
"Great then," Natsu said. "It'll be a lot funnier if we are together."
Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated! Love you all~