A/N: Sorry for the short, kinda filler chapter. Enjoy, R&R, and all that jazz.
The next time Lucy saw Gajeel, it was a complete surprise. She was doing homework at one of her favorite coffee shops (after all, she did really love fresh scones) when he walked in. He glanced around nonchalantly before he did a double take at her. She waved to him with a smile, and he walked over.
"Come here often?" she joked. He shook his head with a grimace.
"Dad sent me on a coffee run - machine at the shop broke." he offered an explanation.
"Ah, sounds like fun. The shop is a few blocks away though, aren't there any closer coffee shops?"
"This is the one where I get a family discount." he sighed.
"You've got family that works here?" she tilted her head to the side.
"Gajeel!" there was a squeal before Lucy's favorite waitress, Wendy, tackled the mechanic in a hug. The younger girl released him after a short, yet cute, embrace.
"Lucy, this is my cousin. She works here." he supplied.
"Hi again, Miss Lucy!" Wendy greeted the blonde for the second time that day. The younger girl had become her friend in the months that she had been coming there. She was adorable and sweet, super polite, and always helped Lucy with her biology homework. The young girl wanted to be a doctor, so she worked a lot to save up for med school.
"Yeah, Wendy and I are old pals. I come here a lot." Lucy smiled at Gajeel.
"Huh. Small world." he blinked.
"Gajeel, Uncle Metalicana called in his order so I have his coffee ready. You can just take it, I was about to toss the rest to make a new batch so it's on the house!" the cute girl smiled at her cousin, and he gave a grin back before ruffling her hair.
"Thanks, shorty. Tell Romeo I say hi. Gihi." he grinned at his cousin before he left. Wendy smiled at Lucy before leaving her to get back to work.
The next day, Lucy was working at the same table when he walked in again. He went over to the counter and got another coffee from Wendy before he noticed her. This time, his eyes widened a bit before he laughed loudly.
"Honestly I didn't really believe you were a cheerleader until this moment. Somehow, it suits you, bunny girl." he approached her table again. Lucy was wearing a blue and white two piece cheerleading outfit with Kardia White Knights emblazoned across the front.
"If it weren't for that broken coffee machine, I'd think you were coming here just to see me." Lucy leered at the mechanic.
"New one comes in tomorrow. You won't be seeing my face round here for a while." he smirked, kicking the chair across from her out and dropping into it.
"I'll soak up the experience as long as I can." she said dryly, but cleared some of her papers out of his way.
"Calculus? Chemistry? Wow, a real scholar over here." he leafed through a few papers.
"Who do you think tutors Erza so she can keep her grades up for student council?" Lucy replied wryly.
"She really likes Jellal, huh." he chuckled again. The scarlet haired beauty found any way to impress the president of the prestigious academy, and matching his title was her favorite way.
The door to the shop opened again, bringing with it a ding and a loud exclamatory shout of the blonde's name. Both she and Gajeel curiously looked to the door. It was Sting, and his eyes brightened at the sight of her sitting with Gajeel. He headed towards their table.
"Ah, hey!" she grinned and waved. He was with his step-brother, Rogue, whose eyes widened at the sight of who she was with. Rogue was the quarterback of Kardia's football team. Gajeel was quarterback of Magnolia's; it was no surprise that the two had met and/or played each other.
"Oh my god, it's you!" Rogue gaped at the dark haired mechanic. He blushed and snapped his jaw shut. "I-I-I mean…" he stuttered as Sting laughed.
"Sorry, he idolizes you." Sting grinned before he sat down at the table. Rogue followed suit.
"Hey!" Rogue snapped, embarrassed. "Gajeel is just a great role model. You're the one that's obsessed with Natsu." he retorted.
"Can you blame me?! Ninety-eight percent from the three!" Sting defended his own idol. Gajeel and Lucy merely smiled at the pair. Sting's eyes lit up as he saw Lucy's chemistry homework. "We're still on for tomorrow, right?" he questioned.
"Yeah, meet here?" Lucy smiled.
"Sounds good to me!" the blond male grinned at her. Lucy merely smiled back at him. "Okay, we're gonna order now. Until we meet again, Milady." Sting got up, his brother following.
"You two close?" Gajeel's eyes had followed Sting like a hawk. Judging from the interaction between the two blondes, he deduced they might be dating.
"Yeah, I guess. We've gotten to be pretty good friends since his girlfriend Yukino asked me to tutor him." Lucy laughed. His head whipped around to look at her again.
"You're just tutoring him?" he frowned.
"Yeah, what? Did you think we went together?" she smiled.
"Wouldn't surprise me. Cute cheerleader with the captain of the basketball team is pretty common." Gajeel had Natsu and Lisanna in the back of his mind when he said this, though Natsu was too dense to actually realize they were practically a couple.
"Aw, you think I'm cute." Lucy leaned forwards on her elbows, smirking at the black haired teen. He studied her smug face before shrugging.
"I wouldn't lie to you. See ya." and with that Gajeel was gone. Lucy sat back in her seat, a smile still tingling her cheeks. Maybe she was blushing a bit. She could admit that.
She could not, however, admit that her heart was warm and her stomach had butterflies.
Not yet at least.