"Lucy!" Levy stormed up to her best friend before school one day. The blonde had just parked her car in the junior lot, Levy only two spots away.
"Yes?" she tried to act innocent, but knew it was futile.
"Ignoring my texts, my calls - You can't just pay my bills for me!" the bluenette's face was reddening.
"Levy, it's fine! I wanted to. You can pay back half if you want, but the other half gets to go towards your prom expenses." Lucy knew how much her friend was looking forward to the dance in a few months to come. The theme hadn't yet been announced, but girls had already gotten their dresses and hair appointments scheduled. As long as they had the date, they could be prepared.
"Lu, this is the last time I'm letting you do stuff like this. And I'm paying off half! I promise! The other half will come after prom." Levy mentioned the dance that would be on May sixth. She stuck out her lower lip before straightening her blazer. "Okay, time for school?" Levy asked, getting over her anger pretty quickly.
"Yeah seems like a good idea." the blonde joked, locking her car and hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder.
"Oh! I almost forgot, tomorrow night Erza's friend Mirajane is having a party and Erza wants us to come so we can meet all her friends." Erza was one of Levy's friends that quickly became one of Lucy's best friends as well. The three enjoyed doing anything they could together, whether it be shopping or going to cafe's for cake sampling.
"I'll have to ask my dad." Lucy was a bit wary of asking her father. As of late, Jude Heartfilia was a bit more strict on her going out with unfamiliar people. She really couldn't blame him, for she was wary herself.
"Oh, don't worry, once he hears I'll be there he'll jump for joy!" Levy joked, but secretly the pair knew Levy was right. Levy was Lucy's first actual friend, her having been homeschooled until freshman year of high school. He held a soft spot for the bluenette in his heart.
The two teens made it through their day without anything special happening, other than Levy flirting with Jet, but then again what was new with that. Levy had a gigantic crush on the track star, and he had one on her as well. Lucy thought they were the perfect couple, and would probably place a bet that he would ask her to prom wayyyy in advance.
When Lucy got home, it was a bit quiet. Lucy's father was a business tycoon, and he worked hard to keep his daughter living a cushy life. She had a college fund with thousands of dollars all set up and a retirement fund half filled already. Her father's saving habits were immensely effective, but he was also very generous with treating his workers and even Lucy's friends. When she told him about paying Levy's bill, he waved off the loss of "pocket change" (as he called it). He spoiled his daughter, but raised her right, the death of his wife giving him extra incentive to be the best father he could be. Lucy couldn't ask for a better parent.
"Papa!" the blonde hung her coat up next to the door. She lived in a large estate in the suburbs, so it was kind of hard to find the only other person that lived there in its expanse. She called out his name again before finding him in the living room.
"Hello sweetheart!" he stood, setting the book he was reading facedown on the table. Lucy recognized it as one of the novels her mother had written. Lucy smiled sadly at the memory of her mom, a bestselling author and award winning mother. "How was school?" he pulled her into a hug, and she squeezed him back.
"It was good! I tutored a bit during free block, so now I think that Sting will get his chemistry grade up to play the rest of the season." Sting Eucliffe, an acquaintance of hers, was captain of the basketball team. After failing a quiz in chemistry he had to sit out for two games. Kardia Academy's basketball team lost those two games. As soon as Sting's grade went back up to a C he could play again, so Lucy had been tutoring him the whole week. "Oh! Erza invited Levy and I to go to a get-together at her friend Mirajane's house." Lucy remembered.
"Mirajane…?" he prodded.
"Strauss. She goes to Magnolia High, but you've met her before. We had her over for a sleepover, the time when we put that avocado face mask on you." Lucy supplied the funny memory to help him remember the white-haired beauty.
"Oh! Yes, and her brother was the one who offered to beat up any boy for you. I like that family." her father beamed. Lucy rolled her eyes. "You can go, as long as he's there."
"He lives there." another eyeroll. "Of course he'll be there." Lucy kissed her father's cheek and sprinted up the stairs, opening the door to her room so she could kick off her shoes and text Levy the good news.
Gajeel's Friday couldn't pass quickly enough. He was bored out of his mind in his calculus class, not understanding half the words that spewed from his instructors mouth. He knew that as soon as this last class was over it would be four o'clock, the end of the day, and then he'd be off to Mira's to help set up. He asked for the night off from the auto shop just for the occasion. Nobody in their friend group was allowed to skip a party.
"Psst." his pink haired cousin whispered to him.
"What." he grunted, low enough that the teacher didn't hear.
"Apparently Mira's gonna do one of her matchmaker schemes tonight." Natsu, the boy with pink (he insisted it was salmon) hair groaned quietly.
"She's not roping me into that shit again." he hissed, and that was the end of their conversation. The bell rang and the two shot out of the classroom like bats outta hell.
"Last time she made Lisanna sit on my lap! It was so embarrassing." the pinkette groaned.
"She ran outta girls to pair me with. Gihi." his dark eyes flashed with amusement as Natsu whined more.
"Apparently, Erza invited a few more girls." Natsu smirked.
"No way. Shit!" Gajeel groaned as they left the school grounds, approaching the parking lot where his truck was. Gajeel drove his cousin to and from school (they lived in houses directly next to each other, it was more efficient this way). So naturally, he was Natsu's ride to the party.
"Well, maybe I'll get paired up with someone else!" Natsu said cheerily.
"Yeah I hope I get left out." the mechanic said bluntly.
Unfortunately for Gajeel, he was not left out.
The party started promptly at six-thirty, when Mira brought out a huge amount of pizzas that she had ordered. There were about nine for the small group. Those who were there (so far; Erza's two mystery guests not coming until a little later) were Erza, Elfman, Lisanna, Gray (a good frenemy), Mira, Laxus (Mirajane's boyfriend), Natsu, and Gajeel. It was their usual group for hanging out, occasionally their friend Cana would stop by with some booze and her boyfriend Bacchus. There were a few others who flitted in and out of the group, but overall it was a good group to hang out with.
"So who are the new girls that are joining up with us?" Gray asked Erza, curious.
"Some good friends from Kardia Academy." Erza grabbed three slices of pizza and plated them, walking to Mirajane's living room and sitting on the floor.
"Oh." Gajeel instantly knew who she was talking about. "Shrimp and blondie?"
"Yes! Lucy and Levy are sooooo sweet, I love them both to bits!" Mirajane gushed as she poured everyone some glasses of lemonade.
"Wait how does grease-monkey know em?" Natsu complained.
"Oi! Shut up, pinky." Gajeel grunted before stuffing a slice of pizza in his mouth.
"Gajeel is fixing Levy's car." Erza supplied before taking a dainty bite.
"Fixed." the mechanic corrected. The bluenette had come to pick her car up two days prior, and he had to break the news that her bill was paid in full. The Shrimp was pissed. Erza's silver cell phone lit up with a text, and she read the little blurb on the lock screen before swallowing her food.
"They're just pulling up." the redhead announced, standing and approaching the front door. She opened it, revealing Levy with her arm raised, about to knock.
"Oh! Hello, everyone!" the bluenette waved as she noticed everyone staring from the living room.
"I parked in front of the driveway, is that okay? I have to leave at ten thirty, so I'll probably be the first to go." Lucy's voice drifted in from outside. Gajeel shivered, must've been a draft from the open door.
"Come in, come in!" Mira flounced over to the door and yanked two pale hands inside. Levy and Lucy both looked pretty normal, in his opinion, but there were a series of people who took sharp intakes of breath at their appearances. Gajeel couldn't help but look appreciatively at the blonde again, his eyes raking up and down her body, which was hidden slightly behind Levy. All that Mira saw, however, was Gajeel checking out Levy, and so the gears in her head began to turn and her matchmaker schemes had a new and improved pairing in mind.