Chapter Eight

Monday morning found Lucy snuggled up in bed. She had stayed up late the night before, putting in as many job applications online as she could. It ended up being 3 in the morning before she had finally closed her laptop and crawled into bed, exhausted. She was having a rather nice dream when the blaring of "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten blasted nearby and she jerked awake. Groaning, Lucy reached over and turned off her alarm on her phone before rolling over and closing her eyes again to try and get some more sleep. She was just on the brink of sleep again when there was a sudden knock on the door jarring her enough to groan and cover her head with her pillow. The knocking persisted for a few minutes and right when Lucy was about to finally get up and snap at the intruder the knocking stopped. The blonde sighed in contentment and her body relaxed, she was exhausted from the night before and she just wasn't quite ready to get up and face the day.

It took Lucy a little bit longer to fall back to sleep the third time since all of the interruptions had kept her awake just a little bit longer each time. She closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath, her body relaxing as she did so when a noise caught her attention. It was an almost inaudible scraping sound coming from her kitchen. Fully awake by this point, Lucy lunged forward into a sitting position, her eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the brightness of the room from the morning sunlight streaming in through her windows. Once her eyes had finally adjusted, she heard a distinct thud as if a person had just landed and she immediately scanned her room looking for some kind of weapon. Spying her glass vase filled with her favorite yellow-red roses, that looked like fire bursts, she immediately stumbled out of bed to grab it from across her room and held it close to her chest, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Slowly she crept from her room and headed towards the kitchen where she heard someone curse and her heart jumped in her throat. She had a feeling that someone was breaking into her home but actually hearing someone made it all the more real.

Lucy suddenly jumped into the kitchen, the vase raised above her head in one hand. Without really processing what happened, Lucy threw the vase at the intruder, a muffled 'hey!' was heard, but with the blood pounding in her ears, she didn't recognize the voice or even acknowledge the intruder saying anything at all. As soon as the vase left her hand, Lucy's self defense classes kicked in. She immediately swung her arm back close to her body before twisting her body, and jutting out her elbow. Extending her arm, she swung her elbow into her intruders face, hearing them groan loudly. Lucy then ducked and swung her leg out to kick her opponents legs from underneath them. Jumping up as the other person fell down on their back, she jumped on top of them and then swung her arm back again to punch them when she finally processed something familiar.

"Natsu?"

The pinkette looked at Lucy, his ebony eyes wide in surprise and slightly fearful. He gulped a bit as his eyes flickered to her fist that was still raised above him, waiting for the impact.

"You're not going to hit me again, are you?" Natsu sputtered.

It was then that Lucy noticed the blood. "Oh my god!" She scrambled up off of the singer and ran to the kitchen sink. Turning the faucet on to warm up a bit, she opened one of the drawers nearby and took out a dish towel. Turning back to the running water, she dipped the towel in and then rung it out. By this time, Natsu had sat up and winced as his whole jaw ached with that blow from her elbow. He grunted as he gingerly touched his jaw when something slapped his hand away and instead felt the damp roughness of the towel on his lip.

Lucy saw him wince in pain and felt a little guilty for being the cause of his pain. Then she frowned as she remembered exactly why she had been the cause of his pain. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She managed to hiss out through clenched teeth.

"Me? I could say the same about you!" Natsu retorted and then winced again. "Ow! That hurts damn it!"

"Who the hell breaks into someone else's apartment?!"

"Oi! I tried knockin' on the damn door first for like ten minutes but you never got out of bed and I got worried!"

Lucy snapped her eyes up at that last word and stared at the pinkette incredulously. "Worried?"

"So o'course I broke in to make sure you were alright!" Natsu continued, not realizing she had spoken at all, a slight pink tint to his tan cheeks.

Lucy finished cleaning the split lip she had given the boy and then stood up. She walked over to her freezer and got out some ice and placed it in a ziplock bag before wrapping it in another dish towel and trudged back over to Natsu who had managed to get up off the floor and was standing aimlessly next to her kitchen table. She offered the ice silently and waited for him to take it from her, which he did a moment later.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked curiously a few moments later once some of the swelling from his cheek lessened.

"I took some kickboxing classes a few years ago." Lucy replied as she yawned, her adrenaline rush gone, her body even more exhausted than before.

"Kickboxing?" Natsu murmured surprised before nodding. "That would make sense." He suddenly smiled. "So are ya ready?"

"Ready? For what?"

"The beach! Come on, I told you I was gonna be here to pick ya up!"

Lucy suddenly grinned and her eyes lit up as she recalled why she had set her alarm to begin with. "Oh right!" She started racing to her bedroom and then walked to the bathroom. Right before she closed the door she called out to him. "Just turn on the TV or something, please don't touch anything!" She heard something drop and shatter before sighing heavily and deciding to just ignore whatever he had broken until after she was clean. She turned on the water to let it warm up as she stripped out of her pajamas and stood in front of her bathroom mirror grimacing at what she saw. Dark circles marred her skin, her hair a rats nest, and not to mention that it looked like she was about to keel over with how pale she was. Lucy ran a hand down her face before getting into the shower to wash away the grime from the day before.

Normally, she would just soak in the tub for an hour or so, let her body relax and sink into the bubbles. It was a way for her to clear her mind and just enjoy the feel of the water washing all of the stress and the worries away from her tired body. However, at that moment she didn't have any time and pushed her shower curtain aside so that she could step inside and start washing her body.

As she was shampooing her long golden locks, she got to thinking about the singer that was in the next room, more than likely destroying something as well as waiting. Lucy really didn't know what to think of Natsu. He was constantly surprising her every time she came into contact with him and she didn't know what to expect each and every time; given there haven't been many times to begin with so far. Lucy rinsed her hair of the shampoo and began to work some conditioner in. The singer, loathed she was to admit it, was extremely good looking. The blush colored hair was a bit odd, but it worked for him, and Lucy was almost grateful that it wasn't a dye job. It was a sharp contrast to his tanned skin, that almost seemed like a golden color when in direct sunlight, and she felt a ping of jealousy as she thought of her own fair skin that burned far too easily. Natsu's tan was well deserved, from being outside all of the time, working, playing, and just having a fulfilled life. His body was also toned, she could tell.

When she had landed on top of him, right about to punch him and then discovered that it was Natsu of all people, in that moment she had noticed just how well his physique actually was. Lucy flushed at the memory as she rinsed off for the final time and exited the shower. She dried off as best as she could in the bathroom before wrapping herself up in her plush pink robe and then opened the door, steam wafting out as she did so. She took a quick glance around the room before spying pink hair on the couch with the TV on. Lucy judged him occupied enough so she walked into her bedroom to start getting dressed.

"This is it?"

"Yup."

"But it's a-"

"I know! Isn't it great?"

"Natsu, I'm not riding that."

"Aww... Luce come on! We're already late as it is!"

"I'm not getting on that thing! There isn't even a place to put my bag!" Lucy crossed her arms across her chest, a pout on her face.

Natsu rolled his eyes at his blonde companion before reaching for the luggage mount on the side of his glossy red and black motorcycle. It was one of the first things he did when the band started to get more and more gigs. He had saved up practically everything, besides his food and Happy savings, to be able to afford it and within two years had finally managed to get the bike of his dreams. That is until they came out with a better one that he fell in love with, he snickered. It didn't surprise him that she hadn't seen the mounts, seeing as they matched the lines of the bike seamlessly. Popping it open, he quickly yanked the bag from Lucy's shoulder and shoved it inside before closing it again only to turn around and raise an eyebrow. "Anymore questions, princess?"

He smirked as he caught sight of her frown before grabbing his black spare helmet and coming closer to her.

"Wait!"

Natsu was severely tempted to roll his eyes again but resisted the urge to do so. "What is it now?"

"I can't ride that thing with a dress on." Lucy stated bluntly.

The pinkette stared at the blonde for a total of ten seconds before he sputtered out a laugh. "Really, Lucy? Who knew you were such a girl." He stated before coming closer to her. He picked her up by her waist and plopped her down on his bike without a second thought. "Just tuck your dress under your butt and between your thighs and you'll be fine."

Lucy was blushing a brilliant shade of red by this point and simply glowered at him as she did as he said. Usually she would be spitting fire at him by this point, but the thought of seeing Levy, Erza and Cana made her hold her tongue. Honestly she was terrified of being on the bike, seeing as she had never been on one before. They always fascinated her but at the same time, scared her. She knew how dangerous they could be after seeing enough news reports and her own research. Subjecting herself to the inevitable she waited for the singer to hop on but squeaked softly when something was shoved on her head instead.

"It's a good thing I had a spare." Natsu said offhandedly as he leaned in closer to her face so that he could adjust the straps. When he became level with her face to do so, Lucy immediately noticed that there wasn't a glimmer of the childlike Natsu to be found, his eyes more serious as he made sure that the helmet was on properly. Her heart warmed at the sight of how caring he was to make sure that she was safe before he leaned away from her with a small grin. "Alright! Can you hear me?" He asked her after he was sure that the helmet wasn't going anywhere and she nodded almost dumbly. "Good, it's about a two hour drive, so it'll take a little bit but luckily, there are receivers in the helmet so that we can talk if you have any questions, ok? I'm gonna get my own helmet on and we'll test it out a little bit before we actually leave."

He then grabbed a red helmet that was hanging on one of the handlebars and smoothly slid it onto his head, hiding his pink colored locks. There was a slight buzzing noise in her ear when she suddenly heard his voice. "Can you hear me?" Lucy gave him a quick nod and she frowned when she heard him sigh a little. "Luce, you need to talk, I need to make sure that I can hear you too. So can you hear me alright?"

"Y-yeah, I can hear you..."

"Alright! I'm fired up now!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air once before slipping onto the bike in front of her. "Ok, Lucy, I need you to wrap your arms around my waist ok? Tight enough so that I can feel the pressure of you there, but not tight enough for you to squeeze the life out of me."

Lucy hesitantly wrapped her arms around Natsu's waist. Her touch was light like he asked but she made sure to put just enough force behind it to show that she was there and she grinned as she heard him praise her. She was just starting to feel more comfortable on the bike when it suddenly started to softly vibrate from underneath her. He had started the motorcycle.

And she froze.

"Luce?"

She distantly heard her name being called.

"Luce? Lucy!"

She gulped before answering. "N-Natsu?"

"Good grief woman." She heard his exasperated reply. "Take a deep breath ok? You're doing great!" The girl suddenly felt a hand on her hip though as it dragged her forward so that her front was flushed up against his back. "That's better. I'm going to start moving the bike ok?"

It was then that Lucy realized that Natsu was putting emphasis on everything he was doing or saying. He was constantly reassuring her and making sure that she knew she was doing well. He had barely moved until he had heard her replies as he explained what he was doing. Natsu was being extremely considerate of her to make sure that she was comfortable with what they were doing and it made her smile at his thoughtfulness. Despite the last two meetings that she truly had with the singer, he was extremely patient with her when it really counted.

"A-alright..." Lucy hesitantly replied back and she closed her eyes tightly as she felt a breeze starting to rush by her, her blonde hair lifting in the wind lightly. After a few more minutes she felt the motorcycle gain speed which made her tighten her arms around Natsu's waist.

"Ack! Luce, you're squeezin' too tight!"

"S-sorry!" Lucy murmured and laid her head on his back her eyes still tightly closed.

"Open your eyes Lucy..." She heard his voice softly murmur to her, a twinge of amusement in his voice.

Taking a leap of faith, she cautiously opened her eyes and looked over his shoulder. Lucy's eyes widened as she saw everything rushing by her in a flash, she hardly felt the wind thanks to Natsu's body in front of her and his warmth. She watched as everything blurred by, she couldn't distinguish any trees or other cars and buildings and that's when a laugh bubbled up from deep inside her as the adrenaline made itself known in her body. "Wow!"

"I know right!" She heard the crackling of the receiver as Natsu spoke. "If we keep this pace up, it won't take too long."

"This is just amazing!" Lucy giggled and moved her arms from around his waist to only grasp his hips in her hands so she could get a better look at where they were going. "Hey Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"Can we go faster?"

She could hear the grin in his voice when he spoke next. "Now you're talking!" He revved the engine up and in less than a second they were racing off, passing all of the other cars.

Natsu heard the tinkling of laughter in his ear through his receiver and his grin widened. Lucy needed to smile more. She was always too serious and he was glad that he brought his bike instead of his car. The girl needed to branch out more and experience more of what life had to offer. He knew he had taken a chance with the bike but was happy to know that he made the right decision when he heard her laughing again.

Before either of them knew it, they arrived at the giant beach house that looked to be three stories high. She supposed that it needed to be as big as it was to accommodate all the people that Natsu said was going to be there. On the trip there, he had explained that it was the Strauss' beach vacation home and that the Strauss' were also close friends of the band. Apparently they had all grown up together until the band got famous and couldn't make it half of the time to the beach with their friends, so it was also a sort of reunion for everyone. Natsu unlatched the mount that carried her bag and flung it over his shoulder before securing the latch again and then placing a tarp over top it. Lucy reached for her bag but Natsu evaded her fingers with a smirk before running inside the house.

"Yo! We're here!" He yelled out as Lucy trailed behind him, a scowl on her face.

"Lu-chan!" Levy squealed as she ran over to the blonde and encased her in a tight hug. "It feels like it's been forever!"

"Levy, we went out to lunch yesterday." Lucy reminded her blue haired friend.

"Oh yea..."

Lucy giggled and returned the hug and then she wrinkled her nose in discomfort as someone came around behind her.

"Lu-Lu!"

"Cana! Stop grabbing my boobs!"