Chapter 4

Lucy increased her speed and she lightly jogged up to Levy. They had a school trip to Magnolia National History Museum today, so were allowed to wear their own clothes. As she was still disguised as a nerd, Lucy was wearing her scruffy black converse, baggy grey trousers and baggy plain black jumper. Unfortunately, since the only other t-shirt she owned was the oversized one she wore as pyjamas, she had to wear her tight pink top. So she better hope it didn't get too warm.

Levy grinned at her as she approached. They made their way towards the front of the school where the rest of their class was gathered at the bottom of the steps. The sound of quiet chattering thrummed in the air as Lucy and Levy slipped through the throng of people to stand beside Erza and Juvia. Natsu, Gray, Gajeel and Jellal were at the front of the crowd, with Lissana flirting shamelessly with Natsu, of course.

The white and blue coach pulled up, their teacher, Mr Conbolt, reminded them to be on their best behaviour etc. and they all excitedly got on. Lucy and Levy were positioned beside each other on the spotless black cloth seats. Erza and Juvia were behind them. Lucy popped in her earphones and let the music swirl in her mind as they drove. She could feel the steady vibrations of the engine on the bottom of her feet. The city swept past in a wash of colour, and before long they arrived. Lucy stared up at the magnificent stone building in slight awe. She'd heard about Magnolia's famous museum, and she'd always wanted to visit it.

They climbed up the stone steps to the glass doors of the front entrance. The class whispered quietly to each other as they waited in the elegant foyer. The red carpet was plush underneath their feet, and the black tiles were polished to perfection. A few minutes later Mr Conbolt returned. He handed out guides to the museum. "Ok everyone, I've done this tour before so I'll be guiding you. Stick close and don't be afraid to ask questions"

•••

Halfway through the tour they stopped by the toilets. All the other girls had come and went, so it was just Lucy, Levy and Lissana left in the toilets. Lucy had set her bag down while she was using the toilet. Unbeknownst to her, Lissana had kicked it into the small storage closet. Lucy caught sight of its edge as she was looking for it. "I found it Levy, you go on ahead" she said slipping into the closet. "Ok" Levy called and left the room. Lissana finished applying what must have been her twentieth layer of bright pink lipstick. Lucy bent and snatched up her bag. She turned to leave, just as the door slammed closed in her face.

Lucy rushed forward, frantically tugging on the handle but to no avail. It was locked from the outside. She heard Lissana cackle, and the sound of a door slamming. Lucy angrily kicked the door. How could she be so stupid and let Levy leave her alone with Lissana? She hammered loudly on the door, yelling at the top of her lungs, praying that someone would hear.

5 minutes later, Natsu burst out of the adjacent boys toilets. He snarled in anger, seeing the class had left long ago. Damn Gray! Locking him in a bloody storage closest! He angrily started down the hall but his sharp ears caught muffled screams. Confused, he turned and found them coming from the girl's toilets.

He slipped inside and thankfully no one was there. There was loud screams and banging coming from the storage closet. Looks like he wasn't the only one. Rushing over, he quickly unlocked the door and opened it. He found a disgruntled Lucy inside. Again, he felt that strange attraction to her. He frowned. What the hell was she doing in a storage closet?

Lucy blinked at Natsu, shocked someone was actually there to hear her. Her god forsaken eyes instantly swept down to survey his black converse, jeans, red t-shirt paired with a leather jacket. He just had to look god damn mouth-watering all the time didn't he? "Thanks" she said. "But what are you doing here?" He shrugged. "Gray locked me in a storage closet". A small smile appeared at his lips. "You?" "Lissana" she said bitterly. Natsu laughed shortly. "Sounds like her".

Lucy nodded in agreement. "We should probably find out where everyone else went" she said. Natsu moved to let her walk past then followed. They started down the long hall, footsteps echoing in the silence. "Does Gray pull pranks on you often?" Lucy asked. "All the time" Natsu replied. "It gets really annoying after a while" Lucy laughed at that. Natsu couldn't help the grin that spread across his face once he heard her laugh. It was a beautiful sound.

They turned and started down the stairs at the end of the hall. Lucy was on the second last step when she suddenly slipped. She let out a startled yelp and tumbled down the steps. Natsu dived to catch her and ended up falling to. While she fell, the corner of her jumper caught on the end of the stairs handrail. Since it was so big, it slipped straight off. Natsu fell painfully on his back, and Lucy landed on top of him. Her glasses fell and clattered loudly across the floor.

Natsu groaned and rubbed his head. Lucy sat up wincing and massaging her scalp. She was sitting in Natsu's lap, one hand on his exposed chest, where his t-shirt slid up. Taking her hand away from her head, Lucy looked down to see a shocked Natsu staring at her. She realized where her hand was. "Sorry!" she yelped, jerking back. She got off his lap and slid onto the floor beside him.

Natsu sat up but the shocked look remained on his face. Lucy frowned. "What? Are you hurt?" A strangled noise rose out of Natsu's mouth. Lucy realized his eyes were fixed on her chest. She looked down, and realized her jumper was gone, revealing her thin waist and large chest. "Shit!" she screeched. She leapt off the floor and grabbed her jumper, hurriedly dragging it back on. She shot across the room and picked up her fallen glasses, pushing them back up her nose.

Natsu managed to regain his voice. "WHAT!?" he yelled, shocked. Holy shit! Lucy was gorgeous! Why on earth would you hide that kind of figure? He didn't think he'd ever seen *ehem* assets as big as hers. "You…You…" he stammered. "Um…" Lucy twisted her hands nervously. What was she going to do now!? "You're beautiful". Lucy looked up in shock. Did Natsu really just say that?

"I mean…WOW!" he continued. "You don't really need those glasses, do you?" Lucy shook her head slowly. "Why?" Lucy looked up. "Why go through all that shit they give you when you're that…well you know" Natsu asked. He ran a hand through his hair. Then Lucy could hear muffled voices. Coming towards them. She made up her mind in a split second. She stepped up to Natsu and asked "Do you know where Mira's Café is?"

Natsu nodded hesitantly. "If you really want to know then meet me there at 7 O'clock tonight. I'll explain then" she hissed. Natsu nodded. Lucy turned and sat down on the first step. She slid her hands under her trousers to clutch her ankle. "Pretend I twisted my ankle" she whispered. Natsu decided it was best to go along with it. He kneeled down in front of her as Mr Conbolt and the rest of the class came around the corner.

"Mr Dragneel! Miss Heartfilia! There you two are! What happened?" "It was my fault sir" Lucy started quickly. "I twisted my ankle. Natsu stayed back to help me" "Are you alright Miss Heartfilia?" Lucy smiled and stood up. "I'm fine now, thank you". "Very well. Come along you two, you're lucky you haven't missed much" Lucy hurried to Levy and Natsu walked over to Gray.

"Where were you?" Levy hissed. "I was worried sick! And what were you doing with Natsu?" "It doesn't matter" Lucy hissed back. "What were you up to bro?" Gray asked Natsu when he re-joined them. "What were you doing with Heartfilia?" "Nothing" Natsu replied. "Let's go". The class continued down the hall for the rest of the tour.

•••

Natsu slipped through the door to Mira's Café. He sat down at his normal booth beside the window (he was a regular. He came every Saturday morning). It would be seven soon. He'd been dying to know why Lucy hid herself behind nerdy clothes all day. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. A polite cough from beside him got him to flick his eyes up. His heart kicked in his chest. Standing in front of him was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen before in his life. He'd recognise that hair and those eyes anywhere. "Lucy!?"

She smiled at him. Natsu flicked his eyes up and down her figure. He knew she'd be hot, but WOW. He gulped. "Can I take your order?" Lucy asked. Natsu frowned in confusion. "Uh…Lucy-" "I know" she interrupted. "My shift ends in a few minutes. What do you want until then" "Um…I'll take a coffee" he mumbled. "Coming right up!" Lucy said cheerily.

Natsu waited and Lucy was back in a minute with a steaming cup of coffee. He thanked her and paid her (and gave an incredibly large tip). Lucy disappeared into the back room. Natsu sipped slowly at his coffee – which was delicious - as the sun set outside. The light faded and darkness emerged in its wake. Lucy approached and slipped into the red leather seat opposite him. She'd changed into her top and skirt. Lucy set her jacket and her bag beside her. Her hands curled slowly around the steaming beverage she'd brought with her.

They sat in silence for a while. Lucy cleared her throat softly and spoke up. "So…You actually want to know" she said quietly. Natsu nodded. Lucy took a deep breath. If she told him, he'd be the first guy she'd told. And her trust in the opposite gender had been shaken…But something about Natsu made her believe she could trust him.

"Well…then I better start at the beginning…" she looked up and Natsu gave her an encouraging smile. She found herself smiling back. "Well, before I moved to Magnolia and came to Fairy Tail, I used to go to Sabertooth Academy. I was really popular, you know friends with the popular rich girls…wanted by the popular guys…I used to be rich…but then…"

"When I was 10 years old, my mother died…I'd loved her so much, so I didn't take it very well…I cried for months…When I finally got back on my feet…my dad had…changed…" Lucy clenched her hands together. "He became cold and heartless…he used to be such a loving father, but my Mom's death changed him. He started ignoring me…yelling at me for no reason…he just completely shut me out…"

"I think it's because I reminded him of Mom. Everyone always said I looked so much like her. I think he looked at me, and all he could see was her…I just got on with my life. I figured I still had my friends, so I'd be fine. But then…my Dad had a heart attack when I was 15 years old. He died…They didn't know what to do with the company, so they decided to wait until I was 17 then I could decide what I wanted to do with it, since I was the only Heartfilia left. For the time being I was moved into a foster home."

"It was a week before I got back to school. My friends hadn't contacted me at all the whole time. All my fancy clothes were at the house – I never liked them anyway – so I wore the old scruffy clothes the foster home gave me. I just threw my hair into a quick ponytail and didn't bother with make-up. I'd only ever used some mascara and eye shadow, so everyone always thought I was wearing tonnes of make-up but I actually wasn't. But when I got there -"

Flashback

"Hi guys". A bedraggled, scruffy Lucy stood smiling faintly as Minerva, and the popular girls turned to look at her. Minerva took one look at her and burst into hysterical laughter. Lucy frowned in confusion. "OMG" Minerva gasped. "Look the state of you! What makes you think you can talk to me ugly?" Lucy's mouth dropped in shock. "Minerva…? What -" "I thought I told you not to talk to me, you disgusting little bitch!" Minerva hissed. The girls behind her laughed. "Look at the slut, she's not even rich anymore" Whispers filled the hallway. Lucy stood with tears gathering in her eyes.

"Let's get one thing straight, you whore" Minerva said, giving Lucy a hard poke in the chest. "Filth like you doesn't get to look at me. Stay the hell away from all of us. No one likes you bitch. Just get lost, go join your stupid parents for all I care!" Minerva shoved her – hard. Lucy collided painfully with the hard metal locker and slid to the floor. Minerva laughed and walked past. The rest of Lucy's 'friends' sneered and insulted her as they walked past. Everyone in the corridor started to laugh at her. Lucy clutched her arm as tears streamed down her face. She got up and ran away, sobbing as the mocking laughs echoed in her ears.

End Flashback

"That's horrible" Natsu rasped. How could anyone be that cruel? He felt like running to Sabertooth and burning the whole place to the ground. Lucy's knuckles turned as white as the china cup she was gripping. "After that day, I realized they never cared about me. They only cared about how I looked and how rich I was" she said, her voice catching.

Without really thinking, Natsu reached across the table and grabbed her hand. Tingles raced through both of their bodies. Natsu held her hand gently, stroking the smooth skin on the surface comfortingly. Lucy squeezed his hand in thanks. "If you don't want to continue, you don't have t -" "No" Lucy said. "I want to. After that, I became the most unpopular person in the whole school. Everyone hated me, teased me, and insulted me."

"One day, not long before my 17th Birthday, I was thinking about what I was going to do with my life and the most popular boy in the school came up to me. He said he still liked me, and asked if I'd like to go on a date with him. I was pretty desperate by this point, so I happily agreed. I was on my way home when I found him having a conversation with his friends"

"They asked him why he was bothering with trash like me. He said that I still had one hell of a body, and he knew I was a virgin. He said he was just going to get in my pants after the date then he didn't care what happened to me. So I went up, slapped him in the face and told him to go f**k himself. Once my 17th Birthday came, I'd made up my mind"

"I sold the company and everything I owned that was of value. I was old enough to leave foster care, so I used the money to move here, get an apartment and get into Fairy Tail. Once I was admitted in, I decided to dress like a nerd, because I was terrified of being popular again…and I figured that if I looked like an ugly nerd, no one would gain anything from being friends with me, so only someone who wanted to be friends with just plain ol' me, would bother to try"

"Only someone who cared about me would make that effort" Lucy smiled as she thought of Levy, Erza and Juvia, who were so nice to her, even though she looked like a nerd. "It also meant that only guys who cared about dating me as me, would bother to ask me out" she said. Natsu's heart did a double take. "Has anyone asked you out?" he asked. Lucy snorted. "No" Natsu sighed in relief.

Wait, why the hell am I so worried? Natsu thought. "So that's it" Lucy said. "An Unfortunate Series of Events, by Lucy Heartfilia" she said with a small laugh. Natsu squeezed her hand. "That must have been tough" he said softly. He held his arms open and gave her a 'why not?' look. Lucy grinned, stood up, slid over to his side and allowed him to wrap his arms around her.

Lucy wrapped her own arms around Natsu's torso, burying her head in his chest. Natsu warm muscular arms held her firmly against him. He rested his chin against her head. Her hair smelt amazing. Lucy pulled back and smiled at him. "Thanks. It feels good to hug it out". "My Mom says, sometimes a hug is all you need to make you feel better!" Natsu said. Lucy smiled softly. "Thanks for telling me Luce. It mustn't have been easy for you, and it wasn't my place to pry". "No it was my choice to tell you. I've got a feeling I can trust you. Would you mind not telling anyone? Levy, Erza and Juvia already know". "You can trust me Luce. I promise I'll keep it a secret" he said. "Thank you" Lucy smiled.

Lucy's eyes crinkled and she stifled a yawn with one hand. "It's getting late. I should probably head home". "I'll walk you" Natsu said, standing up. "That's very kind but you don't have t -" "Yeah but I want to" Natsu said. "I can't let you walk home by yourself at this time of night" Lucy smiled. "Very well then"

She pulled on her white jacket and grabbed her bag. Natsu grabbed his own leather jacket and they exited the café. The cool night air caught Lucy by surprise. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The ends of her hair curled like little snakes in the night breeze. Darkness had fallen, and the night was calm and peaceful.

Natsu noticed the shiver. "Cold?" "Just a little chilly" Lucy replied but her infernal teeth clattered noisily together as she spoke. Natsu shrugged of his thick leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Lucy looked at him in shock. "Natsu I couldn't -" "Relax Luce. I have a weirdly high body temperature, I'll be fine". "Are you sure?" she asked. Natsu nodded. Lucy pulled the jacket tightly around her. It was still warm from Natsu's body heat. She happily snuggled further in. It smelt like Natsu.

Natsu smiled at that, finding Lucy's expression adorable. They walked to her house, chatting about random stuff and got to know each other (turns out they had a lot in common). Lucy suddenly remembered something. "Oh yes! Do you know your friend Gajeel?" "Metal head?" Natsu said scrunching his nose. "Yeah, what about him?" "He asked Levy out" Lucy sang happily.

"Really!?" Natsu exclaimed. "Yup" Lucy grinned happily. "While we were gone on the school trip. She almost had a heart attack telling me. We had to raid the shops earlier to find her something to wear. I was helping her get ready before I went to work at Mira's". Natsu grinned. "About damn time" he said. "He's had a crush on her for God knows how long". "Really! Levy's had a crush on him for a while too, as far as I can gather".

"They're a strange match, but I think it'll work" Natsu said. "That's what I said!" Lucy laughed. "Oh looks like we're here". They'd arrived at Lucy's apartment. "You live here!? Really?" Natsu asked. "Yes" Lucy replied, confused. "This is one of my Dads places. He must be your landlord" Lucy's eyes snapped wide in realization. "Of course!" Natsu grinned. "I live just round the corner" he said, pointing.

"Who knew we're practically neighbours!" Natsu grinned. "So can we be friends Luce? I'd like to hang out more". Lucy smiled brightly. "I'd like that too." She handed him his jacket. "Thanks. Goodnight Natsu, I'll see you at school!" Lucy called waving as she opened the door. "Night Luce!" Natsu replied, waving before turning and making his way to his own house, the huge goofy grin never leaving his face.