Hey, everybody. Been a while. A couple months to be exact. Yes, I regret not updating…but now I have! I've updated! Yah! Ok, so no tutoring yet. We only get to the part where they're walking home. Still, it's a chapter for you! Enjoy. :)
~Lucy~
I won't lie. I had my hopes up. They were way up. I mean a 'higher than the clouds' sort of up. Why? Natsu hadn't showed up yet. It was halfway through first period and I hadn't caught a glimpse of him. If he didn't come to school, it meant that I wouldn't be able to go home with him, and then I wouldn't be able to spend two grueling hours force-feeding him knowledge. Darn, (Yes…that was sarcasm you just sensed).
"You're doing it again, Lucy." I flinched under Erza's stare and slowly turned towards her.
"Er, doing what…exactly?" I asked, tapping my pencil on my desk.
"Smiling as though you've got something evil on your mind," Erza replied, keeping her voice low so that Mr. Dreyar wouldn't hear.
"I don't!" I insisted. She stared at me suspiciously, "Does it have to do with Natsu?"
"What?" That one caught me off guard. I wasn't so much thinking of him as I was thinking about being away from him.
"He is all that you talk about lately," Erza said, turning back to her notes. I'm pretty sure my eye twitched. I didn't bother arguing with her, though. It would be stupid to keep talking during class. We'd most likely be heard, and I didn't need those rumors circling around the school.
"I'm just happy he's not on the premises," I mumbled, but Erza didn't hear me. She was now fully focused on her work. Apparently she was over watching me smile as though I had something evil on my mind.
Mr. Dreyar was teaching us about the Pythagorean Theorem. It was pretty easy to understand, but he was still very thorough on account of some of the slower kids in our class. He was emphasizing a2 + b2 = c2when the door slid open. My head immediately slammed against my desk and I let out a lengthy sigh. Crap, (No…that was not sarcasm that you sensed).
"Mr. Dreyar," he said, saluting like an idiot. The girls giggled like it was the best thing in the world. I fought the urge to run across the room and push him back out of the door, shut it, and pretend that he wasn't on the other side. My poor hopes. They were so crushed.
"Why are you late, Mr. Dragneel?" Mr. Dreyar asked. He looked intimidating for such a short man, but Natsu didn't flinch.
"I overslept," he said, grinning. Idiot.
I looked around the room and saw that most of the girls in the room were staring at him dreamily. It annoyed me. I did, however, see Levy. She was looking directly at me, and her expression said, "I'm so sorry." I just nodded and faced front again.
"Please…detention, detention, detention," I chanted under my breath.
"Sit down, Mr. Dragneel. Mind that it doesn't happen again," Mr. Dreyar said, still clearly annoyed.
"Lucy, ignore him," Gray said, tapping my elbow. I frowned. That's pretty much impossible.
He walked right past me and sat down. He didn't pause to talk to me or anything of the sort. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I looked to Gray, confused, but he was staring at Natsu. I joined him in staring at Natsu. When Natsu finally finished setting down his bag, he looked up at me. He grinned and winked, but said nothing. It was making me uneasy. I thought he always talked…so why not now? Did something happen? Wait…no. Stop it, Lucy. He's evil, remember!
I straightened and turned back towards the front of the class. "Right!" Mr. Dreyar said, clapping his hands together, "Pop quiz! I want to know what percentage of my class pays attention to my lessons!"
There was a chorus of groans from the students sitting around me. I didn't particularly care. Mr. Dreyar's pop quizzes were never too hard. Mr. Dreyar had his tough sides, but he always took mercy on the kids in the end. I looked over and saw Gajeel staring at the quiz that had just been laid out on his desk as if it were his arch nemesis. Levi was happily filling out the answers, as to be expected of the top of our class. Mr. Dreyar put my quiz on my desk, "Good luck, Ms. Heartfilia."
I smiled up at him, "Thank you." It occurred to me at that moment that the player behind me wouldn't be able to pass this quiz: he'd missed the lesson. That just meant more work for me. I'd have to teach him the Pythagorean Theorem in Mr. Dreyar's stead. I shook my head as I turned my full attention to the quiz.
It was just a series of questions on what we'd just learned. As soon as I started question two, Levy raised her hand to signify that she was finished. Some of the other kids in the class groaned, clearly annoyed that Levy had already finished. I just smiled. You think they'd have gotten used to it by now. I was on question five, the last question, when Mr. Dreyar approached me. Well, I thought he was approaching me. In reality, he was walking towards Natsu to collect his quiz.
The blood drained from my face. Natsu, the guy I'd deemed an impossible idiot, had finished before me. He'd even gotten his quiz after I had! No…stop freaking out Lucy. I finished my problem and signed my name. I raised my hand and Mr. Dreyar collected my quiz. He scanned it and then smiled at me before he walked away. Ha! Natsu didn't get a smile! He must've just written random numbers down. There was no way he was going to score above me without even getting the lesson. My pulse calmed at those thoughts and I relaxed in my seat.
I stretched my arms above my head and glanced around the classroom. There were only a few stragglers. Gajeel was one of them, poor guy. Gray tossed a piece of paper onto my desk. I smiled slightly and unfolded it.
He won't get a high score.
Ah, Gray. You always know what I'm thinking. I picked up my pen and wrote a reply, grinning as I did so. I tossed the paper back to him when Mr. Dreyar collected another quiz so as to be sure that he wasn't looking, (I think the guy's name was Droy…but I'm not 100% sure). Gray smiled when he got my reply. What did I write?
Just like you! :)
Gray quickly wrote back and I unfurled the paper as soon as it landed on my desk.
Ha.
I smiled at him and flashed an 'L' at him with my fingers. He rolled his eyes and nodded. I stifled a laugh and relaxed in my seat. I rolled my head on my shoulders and stretched my legs out. I sighed. Waiting for other people to finish their quizzes was always a tiny bit awkward. A tiny bit. What was a million, billion, trillion times more awkward, though, was what happened next. I don't even like remembering it.
A hand appeared next to my head and dropped a piece of paper. The tiny piece of paper fell directly down my shirt. I whirled around and glared at Natsu. He winked and gestured to where the paper had landed. What'd he expect? That I was just going to pluck it right out of there in front of everyone? Nuh, uh. No way.
I raised my hand. Mr. Dreyar came to my desk. I whispered so as not to disturb my suffering classmates, "May I go to the restroom?"
"Be back quickly, please," Mr. Dreyar said with a smile. I stood up and headed for the door. I quickly slid it open and shut it behind me. I walked into the bathroom and shut myself up in one of the stalls. I reached down my shirt and grabbed the paper.
"God, such a jerk," I muttered as I opened the paper.
Talking about me?
"God, such a JERK!" I practically yelled. He must've seen Gray and I passing notes. I frowned because we had been talking about him…sort of...a little. I ripped the paper in half and dropped the shreds into the toilet. I flushed it and walked out of my stall.
I froze when I saw that there was someone else in the bathroom. "Who's a jerk?" Juvia asked.
I walked forward, eyeing the door, "No one."
"You'd better not be talking about Gray," she said very quietly.
"I wasn't-"
"Because he's anything but a jerk! He's kind and wonderful and beautiful!" She sighed and spaced out for a few moments. I blinked, waiting for her to return to the present. Suddenly her eyes zeroed in on me. Her face darkened, "And you don't deserve him."
"Whoa!" I said, holding my hands up and backing away towards the door, "So not like that! Childhood friends! That's all! I promise!" I could feel her eyes piercing through my soul as I turned tail and ran out of there. I couldn't help but smile both at her weirdness and my new discovery. This was going to be interesting. Good luck, Gray. You're going to need it.
I was still a bit worried, though. She seemed a little crazy. My stomach twisted a little, but I shook it off. I pulled the door to our class open and walked inside. I sat down quietly in my seat. Gray tapped my shoulder and I looked at him. He shot me a questioning look. He knew that I had an alternate reason for leaving. I just shook my head and mouthed 'later.'
Another note landed on my desk and I glared at it. I slowly reached forward and picked it up. I unfolded the edges and read it.
So that's a yes?
Anger boiled inside of me and I turned around. I stared at him for a few moments, getting even more frustrated by his long eyelashes and by the pretty eyes that were staring back at me confidently. I shot him my best 'shut up or I'll murder you when you least expect it' look. He just shrugged and smiled some more. His carefree attitude was seriously frustrating; I don't like people who just coast through life as if nothing matters.
I turned away just as Mr. Dreyar's loud voice interrupted the silence. "Alright, anyone who hasn't already, it's time to turn in your quizzes. I've got a pretty clear idea of who was and who wasn't paying attention."
There were several groans from the kids who had yet to finish and would therefore have unfinished quizzes graded. That's sure to take a serious dent out of their grades.
The rest of the day went relatively normally. The only difference was that I was dreading going home instead of looking forward to it. It felt like Natsu was always staring at me…like he couldn't wait to torment me. I knew he would, too. There was no way a guy like him was going to let this chance slip away. I caught him looking at me during lunch when I was eating with Gray and again during last period. When I finally got to my locker and yanked it open, Natsu was waiting.
"If I didn't know better I'd think you were a stalker," I mumbled.
"If you didn't know better?" he asked, leaning against the lockers beside mine.
"I know you're not a stalker. You're a player and don't settle on one girl for long. Therefore, it's impossible that you're a stalker. I doubt your nature would allow you to follow one person." I gave him an obviously fake smile and switched my shoes.
"You don't know me," he said. I looked up at him at I yanked on my right shoe.
"Yes I do. I've met you before. There are plenty of players out there, and each and every one of them was the same."
He groaned and slammed my locker shut. I jumped, surprised at his angry expression. "Why do you keep saying that?" he asked, looking me directly in the eyes.
I sighed and turned away from him, heading for the door. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. "What?!" I demanded.
"Answer me," he said seriously.
"Saying what?" I asked, getting tired of this.
"You keep calling me a player," he said.
I nodded, "Because you are one."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"How am I a player?" he asked, still holding my wrist.
"Please," I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. It pissed him off more.
"Tell me," he said, squeezing my wrist a bit tighter.
"Lisanna Strauss," was all I said before I wrenched my wrist from his grasp and turned towards the door. Natsu caught up with me quickly.
"Wait, that was-"
"You flirting with her and officially classifying yourself as a player," I said as we stepped outside.
"But that was-"
"Are you going to argue with me?" I asked, pausing to look at him.
"Ok, so it was what it looked like, but it's different," he said, switching his bag to the other shoulder.
"How so?" I asked, looking at him.
He didn't say anything, but he looked conflicted. "Riiight," I said, turned away from him. I'd somehow wanted him to give me an excuse, but he didn't…and I found myself disappointed and even more annoyed.
"Whatever. I don't owe you a reason," he mumbled, shuffling along behind me.
"Right…because you flirt with everyone, not just me. I'm just another average member of the female gender that you considered a potential one night stand," I said. I sounded surprisingly venomous.
"That's not true!" Natsu shouted. I froze and stared at him. Everyone around us also looked. I tried to analyze his words, but found myself even more confused than before I'd attempted analysis.
"What does that even mean?" I asked.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground, "Nothing."
"Wha-" I began, but realized I was about to start shouting. I growled and grabbed Natsu's arm. "Come on." I needed to get some place where we could talk without the entire student body watching. I dragged him past the crowd that had gathered and around the corner.
When we were finally out of sight, I spoke up, "Look, I don't know what your deal is…but I would really appreciate if you didn't involve me in it."
"That's sort of impossible since you're my tutor," he pointed out.
I sighed, "I know. I get that, ok? It's just that I already have enough on my plate without you."
"Why am I on your plate?" he asked. He smirked, "Are you going to eat me? I wouldn't mi-"
"There you go again!" I yelled, "Stop it! Why do you do that?"
"I can't help it," he said. I shut up. He was looked straight into my eyes. He seemed serious…honest. It surprised me that he would…or even that he could say that to me.
"Just…don't, ok?" I said.
"Why? Because you have too much on your plate?" he scoffed, "What? Did your hair appointment get cancelled?"
That did it. The anger that had been rising reached the tipping point. I couldn't help it any longer. My body moved on its own. I slapped him directly in the face. "I haven't seen my father in three months. I've got AP courses that I need to deal with and several insanely difficult exams to study for. Every one of my friends is probably going to leave me in the dust because of love. I've got this constant pressure to be perfect…to be the best…the Princess. And then I've got you! So please…please, don't say that my life is easy."
I took a deep breath after yelling that and practically fell down onto the edge of the sidewalk. That was…humiliating. I just said things to this guy that I didn't even know. I didn't even realize that I was worrying about those things, and yet…I told Natsu. I was really afraid of what he was about to say. I was even more afraid that he would tell other people. Heck, I'd just slapped him in the face and told him my sob story. I was a mess and felt like I was about to start crying. There was this tiny part of me, though, that felt good. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders. A weight I'd been carrying for a long time.
I heard Natsu shift from one foot to the other, completely quiet. He finally stepped forward and sat beside me. "Oh," was all he said. Oh?
"Yeah," I mumbled.
"I guess I wasn't expecting that," he said. There was a long silence that was filled by the rustling of the leaves above us and the barking of a dog in someone's yard a long way away.
"Neither was I," I said, "I didn't mean to do that. I'm sort of sorry that I slapped you."
"Sort of?"
"Not that much. You pretty much deserved it. Only a little," I said, looking up at him.
"Well, it's ok," he said. I nodded. He smiled at me, "Sort of."
I whacked his arm, "Hey!"
"What?" he said, smiling wide, "I was kidding!"
I smiled a little and stood up. I dusted off my skirt and turned to offer him my hand, "Come on. Let's go."
He nodded and took my hand. I started to pull him up and then released my grip. His hand slipped through mine and he fell back to the pavement. I laughed, "Did you really think I was going to help you up!?"
He lay on the ground…not moving. "Natsu?" I questioned. He didn't say anything. I kicked him gently, but he didn't move. "Natsu," I said, a little worried. "Um…are you dead?" I asked, kneeling beside him.
"Black," he said.
"What? Oh my god, are you seeing black?" I asked. I was freaking out and ready to drag him back to the nurse's office. I was an idiot.
"I was expecting pink, but black? You never fail to surprise me, Lucy Heartfilia," he said, sitting up and grinning.
When the meaning of his words sunk in, I growled and punching his arm, "You're such an insatiable pervert!"
"I call that instantaneous revenge," he said, standing up and pointing at me, "You were freaking out."
"I was not," I argued.
"But I never expected you to wear black panties. I had you pegged, pegged, for a pink sort of girl."
"You're disgusting," I said, "Never talk to me again." I quickened my pace, but he kept up.
"Don't you remember? I have to talk to you...you're my tutor," he said, ginning wildly.
My heart sank. I was in for the long haul.
Review, review, review! Sorry, (again), that it took so long!