A/N: It is finally DONE! Sorry this took too long, like... months-long. I started writing Natsu's side immediately when I got the two reviews saying I should do one (because I really wanted to and a single review was enough for me) but I didn't know where to start and how to write it but at last, I was finally able to write. The mood here isn't like the previous one, for me, that is and Natsu's too serious. I don't know if you'll agree with me but well, I'm content with this, I hope you will be too.

Natsu never knew it was possible to feel so many emotions at the same time, not to mention, these emotions were all negative. He felt angry, disappointed, hurt, and even betrayed, but he didn't know why. He was just happy and excited a moment ago but then his mood changed for the worse, this had been happening a lot lately and he figured he might as well get himself checked by the doctor, maybe there was something wrong with him or his head.

He balled his hands into fists and started walking away from the place, not even bothering to greet his blonde friend a hello since he decided that she was busy. He walked away from the cafeteria and headed towards his classroom, searching for a familiar blob of dark, untamed hair, he thought that maybe fighting with someone can help him cheer up again and maybe relieve some stress that had been piling up inside him for weeks.

When he saw Gray who was busy being trapped inside his dreamland in the peaceful solace of his seat, he stomped off towards him. He yanked the unsuspecting victim by the collar and punched him on the cheek. Gray was thrown out of his seat from the impact and fell sideway on the cold floor.

Touching his cheek and wincing from the pain, Gray's head snapped at Natsu, throwing him glare. "What the hell, flame brain?!" Gray yelled and stood up, dusting his uniform.

"Fight me!" Natsu started advancing towards Gray, arm already pulled back for another strike but Gray beat him to it and punched him in the gut. The two immediately started exchanging punches, bumping towards desks and chairs and people, some students who had knocked out of the way even joined the fight. The whole class was on an uproar and the once neatly-organized room became a complete mess in a matter of a few seconds.

The fun, however, had been cut short when Erza Scarlet strode inside the room with an air of authority and a serious expression on her face. Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and stood quietly, praying that they wouldn't get in trouble. Natsu and Gray threw their arms around each other's shoulders and started wearing a nervous smile on their faces.

"What's with all the ruckus? The other sections were already complaining about the noise." Erza said, her sharp eyes roaming the whole room, eyeing each and every student inside.

"N-Nothing, we were um... having a debate about the discussion we had in class earlier and... uh, everything just got out of hand." Levy's voice quivered and she stuttered as she came up with an excuse for her rowdy classmates. "Sorry." She squeaked.

Erza just stood quietly for a minute that made the whole class hold their breaths in anticipation and fear. Erza let out a sigh. "Fine, I appreciate it that you're taking your studies seriously but please, try to be more civil towards each other, is that clear?"

"Y-Yes!" The whole class answered as a whole.

When the redhead left, the class visibly relaxed, some slumping on their chairs and the other letting out a relieve sigh. And Natsu and Gray? They both slumped on the floor, the nervousness from their encounter with Erza took out all the energy they had.

"What was your problem anyway?" Gray glanced at Natsu with a frown.

"Like I said, I just want a fight." Natsu grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"No you don't, if you were just looking for a fight then you would've been grinning as you punched me. I know you long enough to know that that isn't the reason." Gray said. Even if the two were always on each other's throat, the friendship formed between them can't be denied and Gray was genuinely worried about Natsu's behavior, he had already sensed that something's been bothering the salmon-haired teen. He waited for an answer but Natsu stubbornly kept his mouth shut. "Come on, tell me before I get Erza to console you." He threatened. He knew he shouldn't push Natsu if he doesn't want to talk but the usually cheerful idiot was already too gloomy lately. Even Lucy, Natsu's best friend, had noticed the difference on Natsu's behavior.

Natsu hesitated but started opening up. "I don't know... I just don't feel good when I'm around Lucy lately..." He muttered, fumbling with his scale-like scarf.

Gray raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? How so?" He asked and he watched as Natsu's face twisted in deep concentration.

"Well, first, I get uncomfortable around her and then I have this urge to punch someone which is why... I just punched you earlier." He admitted sheepishly.

"And why do you have the urge to punch someone?"

"Uh... I don't know... I just feel mad whenever Loke's clinging to Lucy like a loyal dog-more like obsessed. He won't let me talk to her and now when I try to approach them, he whisks her away?! What the hell, man?" He groaned, slamming his forehead to the nearest chair around him, forcing the negative emotions back before he could punch Gray once again.

Gray smirked, amused at how dense his childhood friend was, he already knew that Natsu was clueless when it comes to love that doesn't involve family or friendship, but he didn't actually expect that he was this clueless. "Natsu-"

"Tell me Gray, do I have a disease? An illness?" Natsu asked so seriously that Gray fought the urge laugh, did he seriously thought that what he was feeling was some form of disease?

"It's called love, you ash for brains." Gray patted him in the back as if he had just won some competition and he was telling him congratulations.

Natsu visibly stiffened, eyes wide, and his mouth open as he gaped at Gray who had a smirk plastered on his face. Was that what it was? If it was love, then why was he always angry? Why did he feel like he was nothing? From what he remembered from Lucy's constant fan girling when reading romance novels, it was supposed to feel like floating in cloud nine and... What was that? Butterflies in your stomach? Why was his symptoms different?

"Hm? Who's in love?"

The duo looked up to see Cana looking down on them from her seat, which was situated just beside them. Gray grimaced as he realized that Cana might have been listening-eavesdropping-from their conversation from the very start.

Natsu immediately snapped back to reality. "I'm not in love!" He denied, shaking his head. Gray must have been trying to pull his leg.

"Yes, you are." Gray replied back, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not! Lucy said being in love feels nice, well I don't feel nice at all! I feel like shit!" He yelled, glaring at Gray. Cana, on the other hand, was just enjoying the scene since the two boys had flat-out ignored her.

"That's because you were jealous of Loke, maybe you haven't notice those 'nice' feelings before because you're always happy and stuff, but now that you're feeling the negative emotions that comes with love, you just start to notice it." Gray puffed out his chest with pride, he could help Natsu and maybe get him to bow down and worship him later, and it would be a nice plan.

"And you're so wise that you haven't notice that you're already butt-naked." Cana slurred, the alcohol that she had drank earlier was taking toll on her, but she wasn't drunk, just tipsy. She watched as Gray looked down on his own body to see that she was, in fact, correct. He cursed and hastily stood up, looking for his clothes that had somehow disappeared after he unconsciously discarded it.

"So Natsu..." Cana giggled more to herself. "You've fallen for Lucy?" She asked, a hint of playfulness in her tone, she just really loves teasing people.

Natsu's cheeks flushed but he didn't seem to notice it. "I-I don't know! Stop asking me!" He stuttered. He was honestly confused, he didn't know whether to believe what the dark-haired male said earlier since they do have the tendency of trying to make a fool off of each other.

"Well think about it, you said that you feel uncomfortable around Lucy lately, right?" He nodded. "How exactly did you feel? Why were you that uneasy?"

He thought long and hard, something he barely does in his everyday life. He reminisced about the times he was with Lucy, particularly the recent memories where he realized that he started feeling discomfort around her. What did he feel that time? "Well..." He trailed off, making a mental list about his experiences around a certain blonde. "I feel nervous when she's around and I never really feel nervous around Lucy before, I always find her existence soothing and calm. And then there's this weird feeling in my gut every time she laughs or smiles but maybe it was just some bad food that I ate waaay earlier so I'm not really sure with that..." He muttered and Cana rolled her eyes at his incredibly dense nature, how can someone be this... stupid?

"Oh!" Natsu's face lit up as he remembered another incident where he felt weird when surrounded by the blonde beauty. "There was that time when I accidentally walked in on her naked and after that incident there were several occasions where I-I um..." Natsu's cheeks flushed once again, this time a darker shade than before, almost on par with Erza's hair color. "I kind of-accidentally... it wasn't intentional but..." He struggled.

"What?" Cana hissed, Natsu's flustered behavior was starting to get on her nerves. Yes, it looks really adorable but it wasn't helping with the situation and most importantly wasn't giving her the answers she desperately wanted to know.

"I've been dreaming about her." Natsu hung his head low, feeling ashamed about something that he could not control.

Cana's eyebrow rose before her lips split into a wide, teasing grin. "Don't tell me it's a wet dream?" She snickered. She was only teasing Natsu but from the way his ears reddened, she knew she hit the jackpot. "OMG, you were?!"

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled through gritted teeth, his face turned a shade darker if it was even possible. He wasn't too proud about that, he promised he wouldn't dare say a word about it to anybody but he thought that this situation calls for it, as long as he gets some answer. Besides, he thinks Cana's opinion is more reliable than Gray's, he couldn't trust every word that exhibitionist says.

"I didn't know you were such a perv!" Cana laughed so loud that the class was giving her curious glances and odd looks, but of course, she didn't care.

"I'm not!" Natsu defended. "I don't control my dreams, okay? Honestly, I wish it would stop, it doesn't really help when I'm with Lucy." He said, muttering the last part quietly to himself but Cana still heard it.

"Yep, you are soooo in love." Cana giggled.

"You sure?" He asked. He wasn't against the idea, Lucy's really easy to love, he just didn't want to make a mistake and give her a half-assed love.

He mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking? Did he seriously just thought to make a move on his own best friend? It just sounded… wrong. And when Lucy described her ideal man, wasn't the description the complete opposite of who he is? Does that mean that there wasn't a single instance where Lucy considered him as a potential boyfriend, even if it was just for a split second? Will she flat out reject him as soon as his true feelings comes out of his lips?

Cana noticed how Natsu's mood depleted more than it already has, knowing from experience how it felt to be in love and its struggles, she guessed where Natsu's train of thoughts was headed and decided to help out the poor, scared and confused guy. "Hey, stop worrying, you really don't have to worry if you don't plan to confess." She shrugged, but then added, "Though you'll regret it later on and have to watch her date other guys." She can't help it, as much as she wants to sympathize with Natsu, there's just no way she'll let an opportunity to mess with him pass.

Natsu paused for a second before looking up at Cana, "But what if I do plan to confess to her?" He asked. He was slowly learning to accept the fact that he has fallen for Lucy, everything he had said ever since Erza walked out just pointed to that one answer, and even Gray and Cana have to slap the truth right at his face. Maybe all he should do was to accept it.

Cana's eyes widened at his reply, she didn't really thought that he would readily accept the fact that easily and is already planning to confess to the blonde a few minutes after he discovered his feelings. It was reckless, yet again, Natsu is reckless. She opened her mouth to speak but a familiar voice cut in.

"You want to confess but do you have a plan?" Gray cut in, now wearing his uniform. Sweat trickled on temple down to his cheek, an evident that he had been running, searching for his clothes around the campus.

Natsu's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Is a plan really needed?" He asked, he thought it would be as easy as just talking. Tell his feelings and he's done.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Of course, you dumbass! A confession should be romantic! Planned to perfection! It has to be the kind of confession that every girl had been dreaming about so that you won't get rejected!" Gray said, his hand flailing in a dramatic gesture that made Natsu scrunch his face in disgust. He was reminding him of that guy from an anime Lucy had forced him into watching, that blonde guy from Ouran High School Host Club, Tamaki Suoh. But to Gray, he thought he was more of a god of love.

"Gray, I hate to say this but," Cana inhaled, "shut the fuck up. You're being weird." She said before turning back to Natsu. "What Gray meant is, you have to plan it somehow, you can't just go right up and blurt out your feelings 'cause you'll just stutter and be awkward and you'll regret not thinking it through. In short, it will be a complete and utter failure."

"So, how do you plan a confession?" Natsu asked, he wasn't really that convinced but Cana sounded experienced and reliable that he chose to believe her. Well, she better not mess with him.

"Do you seriously not watch or read anything with romance in it? Even just a little bit?" Gray asked in disbelief. How can someone be so completely oblivious? Even action movies or horror had some romantic scenes sometimes.

"And you read and watch romance?" Natsu smirked. "Damn Gray, didn't know you had it in you." He cackled and Gray's cheeks and ears went red from embarrassment and the fact that Natsu guessed it right.

"Shut up! There's nothing wrong with that! At least I have an idea about romance and dating. What about you?" Gray yelled, trying so hard to defend himself but he felt like he just dug his grave a little bit deeper when Natsu's laughter intensified.

Cana watched in amusement as Gray tried to come up with an excuse after another excuse just to dig his grave deeper while Natsu looks like he's about to choke on his spit any minute now from laughing too hard. She sighed, boys. When the two settled down, she told them that she'll help Natsu with his mission to 'conquer Lucy Heartfilia's heart' to which Gray agreed on joining.

Natsu spent days being 'trained' by Gray and Cana on being romantic. They thought him what to do on dates, how to compliment a girl, how to be a complete gentleman, gave him a few pick-up lines to use that weren't completely cheesy, and finally, they planned the day of the confession.

Natsu walked up to Lucy's apartment, he was going to spend the weekend, lounging around in her apartment like he always used to, and by the end of the night, when he had to go home, he'll ask her out on a date on a fancy restaurant (which was Gray's idea). He climbed up the window of her bedroom and entered. Lucy was still peacefully asleep on her bed and Natsu couldn't help but smile, ever since he accepted his feelings for her, it's like a weight he didn't know about was lifted from his chest and he had been in a good mood ever since, even Gray's pestering couldn't do anything to break his mood.

When Lucy woke up, freaked out and Lucy kicked him to a wall, they started with their usual weekend routine of having a breakfast together, cleaning the apartment (he wasn't any help at all and was almost kicked out by Lucy) playing videogames and watching movies and anime, and pigging out on snacks, it was already time for him to go home. He didn't feel content though, Lucy somehow seemed distracted and she was always on her phone. He tried to get a glimpse yet Lucy got mad and pushed him away from her phone, it made him feel uneasy.

"Hey, who were you texting the whole day?" He asked as Lucy walked him out the door. He tried pushing the thought of Lucy seeing another man, even tried convincing himself that it was probably Levy or Cana but it was no use, he had to know.

"Does it matter?" She huffed, obviously still annoyed that he tried invading her privacy, and Natsu knew how much she valued it. He should apologize.

"Just wondering." He shrugged, trying to sound like it wasn't that big of a deal even if it's already eating him slowly in the inside.

Lucy must've sensed his curiosity so she sighed, "It's just Loke." She said.

"Oh." He didn't know what to say. Three words from her and it already ruined his mood, just her mentioning Loke and he already wants to pick a fight, if only she knew what kind of effect she had on him. "Sorry about earlier, didn't mean to make you mad, Luce."

"Its fine, I may have reacted a little bit over the top too." Lucy giggled, and somehow, he's mood was lifted even if it's just a little bit.

After they had said their goodbyes, all Natsu could think about was Lucy and Loke. It bothered him, but what could he do? He doesn't have any right to pry into her messages or even be jealous. He was her best friend, just her best friend and he should be supportive of her and her love life. The problem is that he can't. He wants to but his feelings were too deep to just ignore.

He took his phone out from his pocket and stared at the message on the screen. It was from Gray, asking if everything went well. He sighed and pressed the call button, placing the phone on his ear and waited for Gray to pick up.

There was an audible click and Gray answered. "Hey flame brain, were you able to ask her out?"

Natsu kicked a stray pebble from the side walk and sighed. "No, I wasn't."

"What? We spent weeks trying to train you and you didn't ask her out?!" Cana cut in and Gray could be heard in the background, yelling at her to give his phone back.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wanted to but I kinda… lost my motivation." He said, mumbling the last part.

"And why is that?"

"She was on the phone with Loke the whole day! I was by her side but her attention wasn't on me but on her stupid phone!" He scoffed, glaring at the ground. He paused for a minute when it dawned on him that he was talking to one of Lucy's female best friend. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to blow up like that… It's just frustrating." He ran his hand across his face.

Cana was silent for a minute and Natsu was nervous, did he made her mad? He sighed in relief when she answered. "It's okay, I know how you feel. But relax, Loke's not really a strong rival, I assure you. There'll be a next time, try it again tomorrow."

"But what if she's distracted with Loke again?" He asked, unsure if it was still right to go with the plan. He kind of lost his confidence after Lucy revealed that the reason why she was so distracted was because of the orange-haired man.

"Hmm…" Cana trailed off, thinking about what to do. Natsu waited and raised an eyebrow when he heard Gray's voice from the other end of the line, then Cana's. They were having a conversation but Natsu couldn't make out the words, they were too hushed.

"Natsu," Natsu straightened his back when he heard his name being called out. "Change of plans, you're going to force her attention on you."

"What?" He asked, confused and bewildered.

"Get your pillow and a change of clothes, you're staying over at Gray's house tonight." After that, Cana ended the call leaving Natsu staring at his phone in confusion.

I have to cut it short, this is just half of my plan and I'm still in the process of writing the other half. I just couldn't wait to share this with you. Hahaha. I don't know how long it will take to finish the next half because it's almost the end of the school year over here and as someone whose about to move up to senior high, the teachers are making sure to make me suffer. I hope you'll be patient 'til then. :)