I don't know about you guys, but the weather where I live has been extremely bipolar. Spring weather is finally exposing itself when just last week, I had two snow days..

I'm not going to complain about having 70 degree weather, though. :]

Writing this chapter was so so so much fun. I wrote a lot of these scenes after watching episode 30 of FT.

I forgot how much I miss the old artstyle after I watched it, tbh.

And everything was so peaceful back then. Now all I get is anxiety when a new FT chapter comes out!

Well, anyway, I hope everyone likes this chapter! I had a lot of fun!

See ya guys next week! ~

Lucy leaped out of her bed the moment she woke up the next morning.

The last time she had anticipated school this much was the first day of school.

She had no idea what the field trip to Onibus Town was going to bring, but she was excited to experience it all.

"Natsu, wake up!" she nearly sang after she had eaten breakfast and he still wasn't awake.

"Morning," Natsu yawned, exiting his room while absentmindedly scratching his exposed stomach.

"You have the worst bedhead," Lucy laughed from the kitchen.

She had to fight the impulse to go up to him and fix it for him. She couldn't help but wonder just how soft his pink locks were.

"Am I going to be late for school?" he asked, shuffling towards the bathroom.

"You would have been if I didn't wake you up," she replied.

Closing the door behind him with no response, Lucy waited for Natsu to get ready for school.

She watched Happy roam around the apartment until several quick knocks sounded from outside.

"Lu-chan, open the door!" Levy yelled.

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise as Natsu started to leave the bathroom.

"Get back in there!" she hissed, scurrying to Natsu and pushing him into the bathroom.

"But I don't have a shirt—"

Lucy didn't allow Natsu to finish his sentence as she closed the door and dashed to the front door.

"Surprise!" the girls shouted in unison.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lucy asked with disbelief as her friends made their way into the apartment.

"We wanted to surprise you, of course," Levy responded.

"It's relieving to see your apartment is still clean," Erza scanned the area, approving of what she was seeing.

"Good morning, Happy!" Lisanna swooped down to pick up the cat.

"Do you have any food?" Cana made a beeline into the kitchen.

Lucy stayed stiff in bewilderment, but dismissed her thoughts with a shake of the head.

"Let me go get my bag so we can leave," she spoke.

"We don't need them," Erza stated.

"We don't take them on field trips, remember?" Cana reminded.

"O-Oh," Lucy stuttered. "That's right."

Lisanna tilted her head curiously.

"I just forgot," Lucy assured, taking a step back to the front door. "Since I'm all ready to go, how about we leave now?"

"I want to stay here longer," Levy whined.

"We're going to miss the buses if we stay here any longer," Erza said as she read her watch.

"Buses?" Lucy repeated to check if she heard correctly.

"We decided to change to buses because they're cheaper for the school," Erza explained.

As soon as the explanation left Erza's lips, there was a faint groan. All of the girls' heads swiftly turned to the bathroom.

"What was that?" Cana questioned.

"I-It was probably my neighbor!" Lucy exclaimed, spinning to the door and widening it open. "Can we leave now?"

"That sounded like Natsu," Lisanna frowned while they were politely shooed out of the apartment.

"Of course you'd think that," Cana scoffed.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the remark, but since Lisanna didn't respond, she had no choice but to forget it.

"So the first thing we're going to do is watch a play?" Levy asked Erza.

"Or will we walk around first?" Lucy chimed in.

"Don't ask me," Erza shrugged.

"So much for being the student council president," Cana muttered.

"We'll just have to see when we get there," Lisanna stated.

The girls nodded in agreement, entering the gates of the school. Each classroom in the hallway their room was in was bursting with euphoria.

All of the students were thrilled to finally be able to go on a field trip. It was much preferred—compared to staying inside a classroom all day.

Lucy wasn't able to stop herself from worrying if Natsu was going to be late or not. Every couple of minutes, she glanced at the front of the door in hopes he would be rushing in.

But when there were only two minutes left until school was in session, she was starting to internally panic.

"I'll be right back," Lucy told her friends before standing up from her seat.

"Where is she going off to this time?" Cana inquired.

Lucy didn't get as far as she was hoping, because right when she left the classroom, she collided into a chest.

"I think this has happened before," Gray chuckled, looking down at her. "Where are you going?"

"I need to go find—"

"Can you guys get a room?" Natsu smirked, interrupting Lucy.

Lucy opened her mouth to retort something back, but Gray beat her to it.

"You wish we could, Flame-brain," he scoffed.

"In your dreams, Ice Princess," Natsu returned the scoff.

Lucy gaped at the two, absolutely stunned at what was happening.

"What?" they asked her simultaneously.

"Nothing!" Lucy waved her hands in front of her with a grin. "I'll leave you two alone now."

Gleefully returning to her group of friends in the classroom, she went back to discussing about the field trip.

She had no idea when or how Natsu and Gray got back to talking again, but she didn't want to question it. She was happy enough with them being friends again.

"Everyone, the buses have arrived. Please make your way outside," the teacher instructed after the bell had rung.

"I just want to be there already!" Levy raved while the group moved with the crowd to the buses.

Lucy was just as excited as her best friend, but she paused once her eyes landed on the large black traveling bus.

"Who is sitting with who?" she blurted out, being the one to break the ice.

The group exchanged a brief glance at one another, but nobody had the chance to answer as two teachers began to instruct them to enter the buses. They reluctantly followed the line to the bus.

The seats looked more comfortable than Lucy had imagined. There were two seats on either side of her as she walked through the aisle.

Settling for a seat near the back, she slid into the seat by the window. She was expecting Levy to be in the process of sitting next to her, but a bulky arm blocked Levy from sitting down.

"You're with me," Gajeel grunted, hauling Levy to him.

"W-Wait!" Levy yelped as she was forced in the seat beside him.

Lucy twisted around in her seat with large eyes.

"Sorry, Lu-chan," Levy mouthed the words with a pout.

Lucy turned back around when she knew Gajeel would be distracting Levy throughout the entire ride.

Though, she was certainly okay it since Levy and Gajeel were going to have some much needed bonding time.

The seats were almost all filled now other than the seat beside Lucy.

"Can I sit here?" Gray asked eventually, pointing at the seat next to her.

"Of course," Lucy nodded.

"There's no way I'm going to be sitting next to Natsu," Gray shuddered.

"Why not?" she questioned.

"Watch him when the bus starts moving," he replied while he leaned back in his seat to get comfortable.

Lucy searched for Natsu on the bus, but didn't realize he was right in front of her until the engine of the bus started to rumble on.

"I feel sick," he complained immediately. "Why is the bus moving so fast?"

"The bus isn't moving yet, Natsu," Lisanna giggled beside him.

"See?" Gray presented.

Lucy tried her best to hold back her laugh, yet there was already some laughter behind her. She looked behind her to see what was happening.

"You have motion sickness?!" Levy laughed.

"Shut up," Gajeel growled.

"I would have never thought that you would have—"

"I said shut up," he commanded while placing his hand over Levy's mouth.

Levy lifted two surrendering hands in the air in response.

"It seems like everyone has motion sickness," Lucy smiled with amusement after turning back around.

"They're wimps," Gray stated. "Especially that tabasco idiot."

"That's what I said, too!" she proclaimed.

There was a faint curve to Gray's lips as he withdrew his face down to his lap.

"How long is this ride?" Natsu asked breathlessly.

"The bus has only been moving for eight minutes," Cana rolled her eyes.

"And the ride is an hour and a half," Erza informed.

"Luce, save me," Natsu begged, stretching his arms behind him and feeling the air for her face.

"What can I do?" she inquired incredulously as she jerked her face away from his grazing fingertips.

"Something!" he demanded.

"Let Lisanna do it. It'll be easier," she responded, shifting the responsibility towards Lisanna.

"Natsu acts like a child," Lisanna shook her head with disapproval. "I'll see what I can do."

Lucy decided not to pay attention when Lisanna began massaging Natsu's head to make him feel better.

As the rest of the bus ride continued, Lucy was glad Gray was sitting next to her. Not once was there an awkward silence between the two. These endless conversations were always fun to the both of them.

"We're here already?" Lucy looked out the window for the first time.

"Already?" Gray repeated with shock.

"Please tell me we are," Natsu sighed.

"I need to get out of here," Gajeel grumbled.

"We have arrived at Onibus," one of the teachers revealed. "You may exit the bus now."

Lucy could tell how much Natsu wanted to leave the bus as he bounced in place in the aisle. She was expecting him to sprint outside when he was at the door, but the moment his feet touched the ground, his knees buckled.

"I missed the ground so much," he groaned as he uselessly laid down.

"Get up already," Gajeel scowled at his still body.

"Everyone, listen up!" a teacher shouted through a megaphone. "The play starts at ten. After the play, you can all explore Onibus. You don't have to watch the play if you don't want to!"

"Looks like I'm not going then," Natsu grinned, picking himself up.

"What did you say?" Erza glared at him.

"Looks like I'm going then," he replied instantly.

"Please be back at the buses by three! Now go enjoy yourselves!" the teacher told the students as he let them go.

The huddle of students and teachers soon scattered throughout Onibus; the group viewed each other blankly.

"I guess the groups don't really matter anymore," Cana shrugged.

"Good!" Levy cheered. "Now we can all spend the whole day together!"

"Great," Gajeel muttered sarcastically. Levy sent him a frown.

"Where are we going to first?" Jellal asked the group.

"The theater," Erza answered with no hesitation. "Let's go."

The group trailed behind Erza while taking a look at the various shops surrounding them.

"This place is amazing!" Levy said.

"Look at all the liquor stores they have!" Cana exclaimed, pointing at each store she noticed with alcohol.

"Don't get too impressed," Erza mentioned. "Just wait until you see the theater."

"You're probably getting our hopes up for nothing," Gajeel mumbled.

"Am I?" she inquired with her steps coming to a stop.

Erza gave them a smug smile as they gawked at the large building.

"T-Thisis a theater?!" Lisanna stumbled over her words.

"This is way too huge to be a theater!" Levy spoke with disbelief.

"It's okay," Gajeel shrugged, looking away from the building with an unconvincing 'tch.'

Lucy stared at the grand theater; she was speechless.

Entering the theater, the group searched for a row of seats that would be able to fit all of them.

This time, Lucy was able to sit beside Levy. She made sure not to be sandwiched between Natsu and Gray again.

"Do you know what the play is about?" Lucy asked Levy curiously.

"No idea," she shook her head.

Trying to think of the play could possibly be about, they waited for the lights above them to become dim.

And once the theater was dark, the group could feel eager Erza was for the play. She leaned forward in her seat with eyes brighter than the spotlights on the stage.

Lucy placed her elbow on the armrest beside her, but immediately bumped into another elbow.

"Sorry," Gray muttered.

"It's okay," she whispered, removing her elbow from the armrest.

"You can use it," he took off his elbow as well.

"We'll share it," she compromised as she rested her elbow on the back of the armrest.

Lucy directed her attention to the play, not minding when part of Gray's arm pressed against her arm.

As much as Lucy, and the rest of the group, tried to keep up with the play, it was no use.

One second there was a princess, then a prince, and then a dragon that had an obvious string holding it up; the group's eyebrows were furrowed during the whole play.

Except one person in the group couldn't have gotten enough.

"That was beautiful!" Erza shouted once the play had finished, applauding like crazy.

"What just happened?" Gray inquired.

"I have no clue," everyone, but Erza, answered.

"The dragon was pretty cool, I guess," Natsu coughed awkwardly.

"The princess was…" Levy began, but didn't have enough courage to finish her sentence.

"I fell asleep twice," Gajeel stated as he rose from his seat.

"Yeah, we could hear you," Cana glared.

"If we stay here any longer, Erza isn't going to want to leave," Jellal eyed the still applauding Erza nervously.

"Let's go before it's too late," Natsu stated, striding out of the row to exit the theater as soon as possible.

After dragging Erza outside with them, the group stood before the theater.

"What are we going to do now?" Cana asked.

"Sight-seeing!" Levy cheered.

"I'm going to go to the restroom," Lucy told everyone.

"We'll wait for you," Lisanna replied.

"Okay," Lucy nodded as she headed towards the nearest restroom.

"Gray and Natsu, you two wait for Lucy," Erza appointed.

"Why us?" Natsu lifted a brow.

"Because I said so," Erza answered shortly. "Let's go now, everyone."

With a shrug, the rest of the group followed Erza as she returned to leading them around.

"How does Erza expect us to find her when Lucy is back?" Natsu inquired.

"Onibus isn't a big town," Gray responded. "It shouldn't be hard to find her."

Natsu sighed, leaning against one of the stone pillars in front of the now empty theater.

"So are you going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Gray questioned.

Natsu gave him a look, both of them knowing what he was talking about.

"Why do you need to know?" Gray scoffed.

"Answer the question, Popsicle Princess," Natsu rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to tell her soon," Gray answered vaguely.

"How soon?" Natsu probed.

"That's none of your business," Gray retorted.

They gave each other a hard stare, neither of them wavering in the slightest.

"I'm leaving," Gray said, taking several steps away.

"But what if I can't find Erza?" Natsu called out.

"If I can find Erza, so can you," Gray gave him a wave behind his back.

Natsu gave out another sigh, gradually becoming more and more impatient. Since Gray had left, Natsu had no entertainment.

"What's taking her so long?" he pushed himself off the pillar.

"I only took three minutes," Lucy came up to him with a scowl. "Where's everyone else?"

"They told me to wait for you," he explained. "Now we have to go find them."

"How are we going to find them in a town we've never been in before?" she questioned.

"Onibus is a small town," Natsu replied.

Lucy went along with it, strolling beside Natsu.

Every couple of minutes their arms would brush against each other. Despite it being fairly warm outside, it gave Lucy goosebumps.

Though she was told Onibus was small, by how long they were walking, she knew it wasn't small at all.

Glancing at Natsu out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him slightly looking around them more than usual.

She knew his searching eyes couldn't mean anything else.

"We're not lost or anything, right?" she asked jokingly.

Lucy watched as Natsu hesitated, turning to her with a sheepish smile.

"Yep, we're lost."