She woke up in a barn tied up with a bunch of very mean looking guys.

"Are you associated with Salamander?" one with various piercings said.

"No she's not." Natsu responded before Lucy had time to act to what was happening. "Let her go in exchange you can shoot me and be done, no more problems." Natsu had a very serious face. He's joking right, RIGHT?" Lucy thought.

"Well, does that sound like a fair trade, Juvia?" He asked a girl with beautiful curly, blue hair. "It does, but we can't just shoot him right away, can we, Gajeel?" Juvia smiled evilly.

"Give us all your weapons." Gajeel commanded.

Natsu took all his guns, ammo, and knives until they were piled to the point where it was almost as tall as him. All of Lucy's kidnappers had his or her jaw dropped at the sight.

"Untie the girl, Juvia." Gajeel commanded.

Juvia ran over to Lucy and untied her.

"Natsu, what about you?" Lucy cried.

"Why are you worried about a complete stranger?" He said as he held out his hands to be tied up.

"I'll come back with help, I promise." Lucy cried and scrambled to her feet wondering why. She caught a glimpse of him smiling as the door shut and she began to sob even more as she read his lips 'Goodbye, Lucy.'

She ran until she reached Fairy Tail. Lucy gasped for air as she cried. Erza and Mira ran to her. "What did that jerk do to you?" They asked assuming Natsu made her cry.

"Nothing he was captured saving me, he needs help." Lucy looked around the room.

"He'll be fine as long as they didn't take his weapons." Erza smiled while Lucy looked at her. "They took his weapons didn't they?" Lucy shook her head.

Everyone gasped, "Who could have took down Salamander?" Everyone murmured.

"Nobody he was saving me." Lucy told them.

~Back to Natsu~

Natsu was kicked, punched, stabbed, shot, and beaten. "I-Is that al-all?" Natsu spat.

"No I'm just getting started." Gajeel grabbed a branding iron and stuck it in the fire. Natsu was frightened by what that would feel like, but until then he decided to try and stay awake until his friends came.

"Oh look its ready." Juvia smiled deviously picking up the iron.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" They heard a loud cry. "Natsu…" Lucy mumbled. Gray, Mira, and Erza raced to the building finding no one but Natsu who was lying on the ground. "Lucy, come get Natsu." Erza said looking for clues as to who could have done this. Lucy picked the now unconscious Natsu up and dragged him to the carriage. They reached Fairy Tail and walked inside, the people inside laughed at the sight of Natsu.

"Sh-shut up!" Natsu began to wake up. "You can let me go I can walk." Natsu stubbornly pushed away and fell. "Dammit!" He winced.

"Let us help you, idiot." Erza accidently touched his back where he had been brutally burned.

"Just stay away." He glared as he walked out.

The next day came and there was no sign of Natsu.

Natsu a few miles out of town before he fell off his horse, Happy, who lay down beside him. "Thank you, Happy." Natsu dozed off. He dreamt a strange dream it wasn't like the others, it wasn't a nightmare, it was one where everyone wasn't harmed because of him, and he like that one a lot more. The next day he woke up to voices calling out to him, "I'm surprised he still living." He heard Wendy say.

"Help me pick him up." Erza said.

Natsu woke up screaming. "Good God! How many times you gonna do that?" He growled. His friends laughed at the sight.

"When we get back you're gonna apologize to Lucy for making her worry." Mira scolded him.

"Hey, Natsu, what happened?" Gray asked.

"It doesn't matter." Natsu mumbled.

"Yes it does you got beaten up and thats sayin' something." Gray responded.

Natsu ignored his reply standing up and getting back on to his horse.

As soon as they made it back they took Natsu to the Docs office or Wendy's office. Wendy walked out a few hours later. "He has broken arm and leg and I managed to get nine of the bullets out, the rest of his injuries will heal in time if he doesn't do any crap like that again," Wendy informed everyone, "but if we hadn't listened to Lucy it might have been too late."

A beautiful girl with a dress that was baby pink ran into the bar. "Lisanna?" Mira questioned.

"Where is Natsu?" she asked.

"In the back why?" Mira continued questioning.

"He's my fiancé of course why wouldn't I want to see him?" Lisanna explained.

Everyone was shocked; there is no way Natsu would settle down, at least not yet and with her.

"OH MY GOD! What happened?" She squealed waking Natsu up.

"Who told you I was here?" Natsu fabricated a smile on his as he began to crawl away.

"I heard you were hurt saving some saloon slut." Lisanna frowned looking at Lucy and Natsu took offense to this.

"That girl is not some saloon slut." Natsu gritted his teeth.

Lisanna ignored him and kissed him.

Natsu pushed her away. "I've told you already I don't feel the same, Lisanna, not anymore."

"But you said you would marry me when we were old enough." Lisanna whined and began to take off Natsu's shirt.

"Lisanna, stop!" Natsu was getting annoyed with her childish acts.

"Why, you know you like it?" Lisanna smiled seductively as she rub his back.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Natsu yelped and surprised Lisanna.

He rolled over on his stomach in pain reviling a burn that went down his back.

"I'm sorry, Natsu, I didn't know." Lisanna gasped.

"Yeah well that's because you never bothered to listen!" Natsu yelled causing Mira to smack him.

"Don't yell at her!" Mira yelled comforting her sister.

Natsu sighed and walked off. "Where are you going?" Erza asked.

"I DON'T KNOW MAYBE SOME PLACE WHERE SHE ISN'T!"Natsu yelled and was gone.

Lucy walked out after Natsu.

"Why are you acting like this? When I first met you, you didn't seem like this." Lucy frowned.

"I didn't know that I would be friends with you, I didn't know you would save my ass, I didn't…I didn't know." Natsu began to cry a little, he hid his tears though. "Anyone who is associated with someone like me will end up dead, lets just put it like that."

"Don't place that burden on yourself," Natsu was surprised to here these words, "you may not know, but everyone wants to help you, Natsu," Lucy ran and hugged him, "so please don't leave." Lucy began to cry.

"You've only know me for a couple of days, what do you know about me?" He laughed sadly.

Lucy knew he was right she didn't know anything about him, just the fact that he was the nice guy who saved her. "But I want to know more, if you would let me." Lucy smiled.

Natsu pushed her up against the wall. "Here's something to know I like, no, I love you, Lucy." Natsu smiled leaving Lucy flustered.

Erza and Mira came outside seeing Lucy on the ground and Natsu riding off.

"What did he do?" Mira clenched her teeth.

Lucy was too breath-takin' to speak. She didn't know if he was telling the truth since he hid his feelings all the time.