"Can't disappoint, right?" My blush intensified if it could intensify more. I stared down at the ground. Did he just...? Eh?! I looked back up to him and smacked him upside the head.

"STOP MESSING WITH ME!" I yelled out and he chuckled.

"Remind me to do that again sometime," he teased, as I folded my hands over my chest,

"In your dreams," I countered and he doubled over in laughter.

"Hey, let's get home," he suggested as I nodded. We'll leave the weirdos to do their thing.

The cold wind brushed against the warms stitches of my jacket allowing only a dull fraction of the cold to reach my skin. It was now becoming dark, and the flicker of lampposts illuminated the concrete path. Natsu and I walked side by side, silence befalling the two of us. I scanned over all the houses, trying to assess the details of the houses to dictate which one was my own.

Finally I had found a match and the two of us walked inside. Natsu remained downstairs, probably searching for food or something, while I walked upstairs to change.

After a few minutes, I walked back down the stairs, fitted in a t-shirt and sweatpants, my eyes droopy.

"Natsu, don't you wanna go to sleep?" I asked, my words barely able to form. My mouth just did feel like talking.

"I'm gonna come up later, but you need to sleep now," he playfully ordered, pushing me back up the stairs.

"But," I paused for a moment, "I'm gonna get scared," I mumbled in the voice of a kid. Natsu looked at me with a sympathetic look, then assessed his options.

"Lucy, I need to finish my homework," he whined.

"Then I'll stay with you until your done," I offered. Natsu sighed,

"Fine," he gave in as I mentally cheered. We both walked back to the kitchen and both sat down at the table, as he struggled with his homework, I watched as his expression stayed concentrated.

Within a few seconds, I was knocked out cold, well not actually. I was more half asleep, occasionally peeking over at him. He glanced back at me, smiling.

"Time to get you to bed," he spoke, more to himself, as a felt my weight shift off the chair. He had placed on of his hands under my head, and the other in the crook of my bent legs (A/N: AKA Bridal Style). My eyes remained shut as I heard footsteps up the stairs, and the steady creak of the door opening. Then my weight was placed onto a comfortable surface, and a fluffy comforter was draped over me. I heard the bed shuffle a bit, and then a warm presence beside me.

"G'night Luce," then I heard nothing.

"Lucy~" a dark sinister voice cooed over the darkness. It was unmistakeable. No, not today . I tried to imagine Natsu again, but he wouldn't come.

"Lucy~ aren't you excited to see your dad?" the voice whined. Where are you Natsu?

"LUCY!" the large voice scolded, "Come great your father!" Wet tears shuffled down my cheeks.

"NO! YOUR DEAD! YOU DIED WITH HER!" I screamed through my tears. I could almost hear the voice smirk.

"Then how am I hear?" the voice questioned mischievously. Where in the hell is Natsu when you need him the most? What if this isn't...? No this has to be a dream, right?

"NATSU!" I called over his voice. Nothing happened. "Please..." I began crying again. Then a different voice spoke,

"Lucy, sweetie, you've grown so much," the voice was sweet and gentle, smooth like silk. No, Mom? My dad's voice didn't respond, so it had to be in my head, and my head only.

"Lucy, he's co-" she was cut off by a rough voice that loomed over all.

"Luce, wake up!" a familiar voice whisper-shouted.

I shot up out of my bed to find Natsu sitting up on the bed as well. "Lucy, you OK?" he questioned, worrisome. My breath was fast and uneven, and my voice felt weary. "You started crying and saying random stuff, and eventually called out for me, since then I was trying to wake you up," he explained. He's so sweet.

"Yeah...umm..."I fumbled with my words. What do I wanna do? Should I tell him?

"Bad dream, again?" he raised his eyebrow. He always knows. I nodded my head. "Did you listen to my advice from before?" I nodded my head again. "So?" he asked.

"You didn't appear," I was on the verge of tears. Why am I so weak? I shoved my face into the palms of my hands, salty water pouring through. In my despair felt two arms wrap around me. Lifting my head from my hands, I looked up, making eye contact with the owner of the arms. Natsu.

"I don't know what happened in your dreams but I will always protect you," he declared. A smiled tugged at the edges of my lips as I glanced over at the time. 5:47, too late to go back to sleep. Natsu loosened his grip on me and I did the same. He looked...so serious, even scary. I tried to lighten the mood,

"Looks like it's too late to go back to sleep," I yawned, "might as well get ready," I offered as he nodded. I hate to see him like this.

We had both finished getting ready and with 30 minutes to spare before we needed to even start walking to school.

"I'm bored~" Natsu whined.

"We could play a video game," I pointed out. All of a sudden his eyes light up as he smiled.

"You got a console?" he asked eagerly. I smiled at his excitement.

"Yeah, I have a couple games too," I leaned over next to a pile of disks by the TV. "MarioKart, Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros-"

"SUPER SMASH BROS" he nearly ordered as I grinned, almost evilly.

"Gonna have to warn you, that's my best game." He laughed out, almost started crying.

"You're kidding, right?" he kept laughing.

"What? I don't look like the type to be good at video games?" I asserted. He smiled evilly,

"Yup."

"I warned you," I cautioned. He smirked, and I could tell I might regret this.

"Fine, if you're so good how about we make this a bit more interesting?" he coaxed.

"What do you have in mind?" I questioned. His smirk grew bigger. What's he up too?

"If I win, you have to go to the dance with me," he bargained, smiling proudly at his bet. I'm blushing, aren't I? Curse you emotions!

"Huh?"

"Are you chicken?" he teased. He did not just call me chicken! I AIN'T NO CHICKEN!

"You're on!" I yelled as he grabbed the controller triumphantly.

"Hah! I win! That's what you get for calling me chicken!" I boasted out of rejoice. Why is a small part of me sad? Natsu looked so disappointed, his head faced down.

"Awww..." he whispered, looking heartbroken. I tried to avoid the subject, I hated to see him sad.

"Look at the time! We're gonna be late!" I pushed.

"He did WHAT?!" Levy blurted out in lunch. Natsu was outside for practice, leaving me with my new found friend, Levy McGarden.

"We were bored so I said we could play a video game, and said if he won I had to go with him to the dance," I explained.

"And?" she forced me to continue.

"I beat him!" I bragged.

"Awww, you should've let him win," she pouted. But then...HUH?!

"Why?" I asked, intrigued.

"Because then my ship would've sailed," she spoke out loud unknowingly, immediately covering her mouth afterward.

"You ship me and Natsu?!" I wanted to strangle her, but at the same time, I felt embarrassed. Why am I embarrassed? Do I...no...right? She sighed then proceeded to elbow me with a...look on her face.

"C'mon, you know you like him," she teased and my face turned red. I was about to punch her when a voice interrupted me.

"Like who?" the familiar voice inquired. I swiftly turned my head, finding myself eye to eye with Natsu. My face started burning with embarrassment. Crap!

"NO ONE!" I shook my head over and over again just to assure him it was nothing. He laughed at my dynamic motions. Within seconds the bell had rung, disrupting our rather embarrassing conversation.

"See ya Luce!" he waved, walking the other direction of me and Levy. Levy, now, was giggling like a maniac about something.

"What's so funny?" I asked, rather stern. She began laughing harder,

"You totally like him," she giggled. I felt my face turn redder,

"NO I DON'T, now DROP IT!" I argued as she snickered before settling with a mischievous grin,

"Whatever you say." She and I both continued walking towards our classes. I noticed someone walking over to us while we were walking. Mira.

"Hey, I heard you guys talking earlier..."she smirked evilly. Whatever's gonna happen, I can bet it's not gonna be good.

"Of course you did..."I groaned. Now Levy was smirking along with her, and they both seemed to have a conversation with their eyes. I'm scared.

"Yeah, did you hear what happened with Natsu and Lucy," she snickered. NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!

"Yeah...he was basically asking you to the dance!" she cheered, elbowing me. Now Levy had this weird look on her face, which was a mixture of every emotion in existence. Is she...fangirling?

"OK guys, I need to get to class, see you later!" I waved. I wasn't able to focus on the lessons in class, I was staring into space, and all I could think about was that stupid bet and what Levy and Mira had said. If I win, you have to go to the dance with me. Awww, you should've let him win. Yeah...he was basically asking you to the dance!

"Miss Heartfilia, do you know the answer to number 8?" the teacher interrupted my thoughts. I glanced back down at my algebra worksheet, my eyes finding their way to question 8. Crap! I suck at math... I stuttered for an answer, eventually finding none of my knowing. After a few more seconds of silence, he scoffed at me and exchanged looks with another.

"Miss Corona, could you help Miss Heartfilia with this problem." The girl silently nodded then spoke,

"57," she answered plainly.

"Good," he smiled, going back to the problem. I sighed and waited impatiently for the bell.

Never soon enough classes were over, and Natsu and I had met outside the school to go home. The soft sound of two footsteps was all that broke the calm silence. Thoughts and emotions rushed in and out of my head, leaving me with ideas, some that would never see the light of day. But one...oh but one.

"Natsu?" I asked as his head swiftly jerked towards me. "I-" the thought faded into the harsh reality of questions. What are you doing?! Just drop it, OK? Heh, I didn't have enough delusion to continue my idea 'till the end. Whatever. "Sorry, it was nothing," I explained.

"Are you sure?" he asked, followed by a half-hearted nod.

The next two days were like a replica of this one. I'd have a bad dream, Natsu would comfort me, we'd head to school, Levy and Mira would tease me about Natsu, Natsu would embarrass me further and I would try again with my stupid idea.

"Luce?" Natsu interrupted the silence. I glanced over at him, signaling that I was listening. "You've been acting really weird these past three days." Crap...should I tell him?

"Oh it's just nothing," I tried to push an excuse out quickly. Natsu gave me a questioning look and asked again,

"If there's something you wanna say, just spit it out." I sighed. Might as well.

"I was thinking...we never talked about what would happen if I won, y'know, the game we had a few days ago," I pointed out. He let out a solemn sigh.

"Please don't torture me," he nearly begged as I laughed.

"Nope, I got something better in mind," I smirked as he flinched. He had the most hilarious look on his face. It took all my willpower to keep a straight face.

"Please don't hurt me," he mustered out meekly.

"Stop it, I'm not gonna hurt you," I let out as he sighed in relief. "Since I won...you have to go to the dance with me," I smiled triumphantly at my witty victory. He just stood there with the most puzzled look on his face.

"But...huh?" he questioned. Jeez he's dense, does he even know how much courage that took?!

"I just asked you to the dance weirdo!" I exclaimed, annoyance finding its way through my words. At first, he looked confused, then pleased, then he was smirking evilly.

"Well, if you really want me to, I guess I could go with you," he teased as I elbowed him.

"Need I remind you that you're the one who asked me first," I reminded and he smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he scoffed and I grinned.

"Remember, you were all like 'Please go to the dance with me Lucy! PLEASE!'" I teased back and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's not what happened!" he argued. I doubled over with laughter.

"I'm pretty sure it's exactly what happened," I giggled. All of a sudden I felt something push onto my shoulders, pushing me towards a wall. My eyes opened, revealing Natsu, with a devilish look on his face. He had pinned me to the wall of the house.

"N-Natsu...?" I stuttered out, my face turning red.

"I think I've proven my point," he smirked. I looked around, trying to avoid his gaze. Stupid heart!

"STOP IT NATSU!" I yelled as he lowered his arms.

"You are so fun to mess with," he teased as I folded my arms over my chest.

"Shut up!"

"Natsu! If you're done flirting with your girlfriend, let's go!" My face grew warmer and warmer. Girlfriend?

"I am not his girlfriend!"

Natsu smirked, "See ya later Luce!" My brain was too engulfed in thought to reply. What the hell just happened? Before my brain could go any further, Levy and Mira appeared from behind me. CAN THEY TELEPORT OR SOMETHING!

"Lu~" she said as she nudged me. "He just called you his girlfriend~" she teased. I'm blushing, aren't I?

"Really? Because I don't recall the part of the conversation when he said, 'Lucy is my girlfriend,'!" I argued as Mira butt in,

"Technically speaking, he didn't argue against the idea of you being his girlfriend," Mira stated matter-of-factly. Who thinks about this kind of stuff?

"So, it doesn't prove anything!" I retorted.

"Actually, it proves a lot," Levy pointed out, "Also, we heard the first part of the conversation also."

"ARE YOU GUYS STALKING ME?!" I shouted, maybe a bit louder than I should've, but I don't really care.

"Lu, it was so cute! You asked him to the dance and he said 'Yes'!" she cheered as I groaned.

"Not really, and I only asked him because..." I couldn't think of an answer. Why did I ask him? I had the most confused look on my face.

"Because?" Levy questioned, smirking. UGH!

"It's because she likes him but she's too afraid to say it!" Mira concluded, smiling.

"No! I don't like him!" I yelled.

"Aww, c'mon Lu...you at least care about him," she forced on me.

"I guess..." I shrugged.

"I wonder how your parents will react?" wondered Mira. I winced as if someone had just stabbed me in the side with a knife. Oh yeah, she doesn't know... I turned away from them as my eyes grew misty. No, I'm not gonna cry, I've cried enough.

"Lu, what's wrong," Levy asked. I gritted my teeth. I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry.

"My- my parents died when I was little..." I explained in barely a whisper. Mira immediately covered her mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't-" she rushed in apology.

"No, it's fine, it's not your fault," I grunted. Hah, repressed memories... "Let's just drop it, OK? I gotta get to class," I pulled my backpack over my shoulder, gripping the straps tightly. I glanced back over at them, "Hey, do either of you know when the dance is?" I asked. They decided to drop the teasing.

"Two days from now," Levy stated. I nodded back at them. Two days. A voice appeared in my head. Two more days, Lucy.

A/N: Hey, sorry for not updating, my friend was really pushing me to update on the Google Doc I was working on and now I have extra chapters for you guys, so the next chapters will be up soon :). Anyway, it's safe to say that I have some sort of ideas for this, including fluff and seriousness. Sooo, YEAH! Hope y'all enjoyed this! BOI