Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters.

Chapter 4

The Unexpected Nightcap

When Lucy got back to school on Monday, Lucy was ready for the gossip and general snarkiness from the fellow female university students (and some professors) and returned to her normal life. To her delight, most of the women had gone back to their fake friendliness towards her with only a handful of them giving her stink eyes. The sad thing was Yukino belonged in that minority group.

So, currently, she had both Yukino and Juvia treating her like a man-stealer although she found Juvia's behavior towards her charming and adorable most of the time. Also, she had to look out for Angel since that psychopath had been lying low after Natsu's announcement of their faux relationship cue chills and paranoia from Lucy's part. Luckily, she didn't have the class with Yukino today.

The lunch time couldn't have arrived faster for Lucy while she was sitting with a bunch of her classmates who were acting chummy with her like they hadn't sent her hateful texts a couple of days ago about her being a heartbreaker. Now, they were all smiling at her and complimenting her on her choice of outfits like that would somehow make up for their narrow-minded comments before. None of her close friends shared the class with her so, she had to make do with who she had but Lucy hated it. Something about their mindless chatter, thinly-veiled insults and vacant smiles reminded her of the ladies associated with her father's collogues.

So, when the professor ended the class, Lucy hightailed out of the class and searched for her dear friends in the crowded canteen.

"Lucy, over here!"

A delicate and soft voice somehow broke through the noise of various conversations happening in the room and reached Lucy. Lucy turned to the voice to find the Strauss sisters waving her over to their table. Lucy smiled gratefully and waltzed to where they were sitting. The whole table was wearing the same black top with purple stripes across their long sleeves and a black skirt as Mira and Lisanna.

"Hey, Mira. Lisanna. Mind if I join you guys for lunch?"

"Please. We haven't seen you in a while."

Mira scooted closer to the girl with long, wavy violet hair secured by a red ribbon into a high ponytail and a pair of simple oval glasses on her pert nose – Laki Olietta, and patted at the empty spot next to her. Laki didn't acknowledge her so, Lucy guessed she wasn't over the breakup with Natsu but since she wasn't hissing at her, it was a good sign.

"Thanks, Mira."

Lucy sat down and put her strawberry milk carton on the table. She then looked up to find the whole table staring her with curiosity while the Strauss sisters smirking knowingly at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?"

Mira put her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand, her eyes pale blue eyes twinkling.

"A little birdie told us about the big announcement that happened at the library."

Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course, Mira would want to talk about that. The beautiful head cheerleader was lovable in every standard but her huge flaw was that she liked to play a matchmaker and could be quite scary when she wanted to be.

"It was just a pretend. Natsu wanted to outsmart Angel and Erza. He didn't love me like that."

A soft chuckle sounded across the table. Lisanna, the youngest Strauss, was giggling and shaking her head at the same time.

"Oh Lucy. I love you but you could be dumb sometimes when it comes to love."

Lucy huffed and crossed her arms under her breast, her face flushing slightly.

"Not true."

Lisanna laughed some more. Her eyes filled with mirth and her short platinum blonde hair swaying slightly at her head movement.

"Please. Everyone with eyes could see you two are inseparable. You have impenetrable trust for each other and that, my dear Lucy, is essential for building a relationship. All that's left is some sexual tension and then, boom! Best couple of the century."

Lucy groaned and put her face in her hands.

"Not this again. Natsu and I are never getting together. Can we let go of this notion that we would end up together some day?"

Lisanna pried her hands away.

"As his former girlfriend, I would tell you this. You guys have an unhealthy attachment. I reckon that's one of the reasons Natsu can't stick with a girlfriend for more than a month."

Lucy bit her lips and looked away from the table, staring at the queue in front of the food stall without actually seeing it. Her hands unconsciously fiddling with the milk carton in front of her.

"Please. Natsu goes through girls like Hogwarts goes through their Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers because he has a commitment issue. Plain and simple. I just hope people would stop blaming me for his long list of conquests."

"Defense against what?" Mira scrunched her eyebrows at the unfamiliar term.

Lucy flushed a bit, realizing that she probably sounded like a dork.

"Nevermind. Like an alcoholic goes through bottles of beer, then."

A warm soft arm wrapped around Lucy's shoulder and she was pulled into an embrace that smelled like lavender. The older Strauss patted the younger girl's head and cooed softly.

"No one is blaming you, Lucy. We just want you and Natsu to be happy. It's just painfully obvious that you two are perfect for each other."

Lucy breathed in a comforting scent that was uniquely Mira and pulled away gently.

"We can't be more different from each other. He's a basketball captain and I'm in a president of the drama club. Our personalities clash horribly. We would crash and burn the minute we get into a relationship."

The whole table looked at each other, not even knowing where to start. Finally, a tall, voluptuous brunette with oval glasses and haughty features sitting at the end of the table broke the silence.

"The whole cliché status quo business ended in high school, Heartfilia. Look at me and Elfman. No one thought we would get into a relationship but we did. Besides, no one thinks you're a dork or a nerd or whatever you're thinking in that pretty head of yours."

She pushed up her specs and her face unsmiling but her face kind. Lucy gave the notorious cheerleader a small smile. Lucy knew Evergreen since her high school years and knew that deep inside, the stern-looking woman had a kind heart and was incredibly loyal.

"Well, we'll stop talking about this if you want, Lucy."

Lucy nodded in relief.

"Thanks, Mira."

"So how about I set you up for a blind date with my friend? He's cute."

"Mira!"

Mira sighed deeply in defeat.

"Okay, okay. We'll talk about something else. Oh, are you coming to the game next Friday?"

Lucy, happy that they got on the neutral ground, nodded again and inserted the straw in the carton and drank leisurely. Other girls in the table were talking in groups now, leaving Lucy and the Strauss sisters to themselves.

Lucy put the drink down and tried for the pleasantry.

"How're you and Freed?"

Mira smiled softly at the mention of her boyfriend and picked at the salad on her tray.

"We're better than ever, thanks for asking. I'm actually going to his poetry reading at the pub in town later today."

Lisanna giggled and set down the carrot she was nibbling on back on the plate.

"I'm sure everyone at the pub would be surprised to see Mira-nee at the poetry reading event. You hated poetry and said it's a snob's language before you met Freed."

Mira scoffed and pushed back her long silver locks.

"Love could change people. Since my boyfriend is an avid reader and a poet, I'm willing to give the whole literature a try."

Chuckling, Lucy finished her milk just in time to see Natsu with his arm around a very pretty blonde's waist walking towards them. Lucy felt Mira tensed slightly beside her.

"Yo, guys! Meet my new girlfriend_"

"Jenny."

Natsu was silenced by the curt response from Mira and Jenny smiled smugly at her.

"MiraJane."

Natsu looked between his new girlfriend and his friend, not grasping the tangible tension between the two.

"How do you two know each other?"

Jenny strode to their table and leaned down on their table, giving them a front seat row to her indecent amount of cleavage, bared by her thin lilac spaghetti straps top. Lucy coughed and looked away from the exposure.

"Well, MiraJane works part time for the same company that I have contract with. We model for the big swimsuit advertisement."

Lucy then remembered why the blonde looked very familiar.

"You're Jenny Realight, the current Miss Fiore."

Jenny, only then, noticed the other occupants at the table. She raised her eyebrow at the other blonde and looked at her up and down. Lucy shrank slightly under her blatant scrutiny. Jenny looked away as if Lucy was not that much of a threat.

"Yes, dear. I'm that Jenny. Now, why don't you let the big league talk and maybe later, I'll sign you an autograph, Mm-kay?"

Lucy had half a mind of slap that patronizing look away from that bitch's face and the growing hatred that seemed to roll off Mira wasn't helping either. Lisanna, who was more open with her feelings, sneered viciously at the annoying woman and said loudly to Natsu who was still standing quite far from the table, talking to the boy from another table.

"Natsu. Get this poisonous bitch away from this table or so help me God, I will rip that bottled-blonde hair and leave a permanent bald spot."

Natsu, finally recognizing the fight that was about to break out in the middle of the busy canteen, pulled at Jenny's arm and steered her away from the group and flashed Lucy a wave.

"Come on, babe. I'll give you a tour around the sport stadium."

Lucy was still fidgeting in her seat after the two left, her face still blushing furiously at the other woman's jab. Mira, sensing her insecurity, grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"That woman didn't know what she was saying. She's just a nasty individual like that. Now, I know you don't have a class for today so, why don't we go shopping at the mall and you can help me pick a dress for my date tonight. I don't know what one wears to an event that doesn't end up with someone getting drunk."

Lucy was very glad she had friends like Mira and Lisanna at that moment. While she loved Erza like a sister, the woman couldn't read the situation correctly and ended up making her feel worse.

"Yeah. Let's go shopping."

Lucy came back home with multiple shopping bags on each hand. She felt slightly better after trying on many cute tops and shoes but her bank account had probably felt the dent from all her spending. Since after her first year, she stopped asking her father for money and instead, tried to earn them by taking shifts at the big, fancy bookshop in town.

The apartment looked ransacked and Lucy would have been alarmed if she hadn't been used to the savage living way of Natsu over the two years. There were beer and wine bottles everywhere on the coffee table and some were on the carpet as well. A big red stain on the soft egg-white carpet near the couch indicated either blood or red wine. She saw the small red fabric on the sofa and on the closer inspection, turned out to be unfamiliar lace Brazilian panties.

"Eww."

Picking it up with the pen she had been using to keep her hair up, she flicked it towards Natsu's closed door. A loud screeching like a banshee from that erupted from Natsu's door made her jump backwards.

"Yes, that feels so good! Natsu!"

Lucy sighed and dropped her bag on the chair. This was going to be one of those nights. Natsu had the habit of bringing girls back to the place sometimes but he always warned her in advance or put the sock on the knob of the front door and Lucy would make plans to stay out late or sleep over at Levy's place. Now, she would have to listen to them having sex all night and those annoying squeals that would put pornstars to shame wasn't helping her one bit. Even through the closed door, Lucy felt like her ears was bleeding.

Inserting the ear plug in her iPhone, she pushed her phone in her back pocket, grabbed a big plastic bag from the kitchen drawer and set out to clean the living room. After she had finally successfully got the stain out of the carpet, she was sweating through her thin white cotton shirt.

She checked the wall clock and saw that it was nearly ten o'clock. She took one of her ear plugs out and found that apartment was silent. Their activity seemed to have ended for now. Deciding she wanted to get a shower to clean away the dirt of the day away before that awful woman, she rushed into her room right next to Natsu's to get a change of clothes and her towels.

A hot shower helped Lucy feel more refreshed and for a moment, she forgot about the possibility of her roommate keeping her up all night with those noises. After the much needed shower and pampering herself with vanilla and honey body butter, she changed into a thin, long sleeved dark blue shirt and pink soft, worn shorts and made her way back to the hallway.

"Oh Natsu. You're so funny!"

Glad that they couldn't see her, she rolled her eyes heavenward and slumped on the couch. She had thought that they were spent and wouldn't get it on again at least tonight. But apparently she was wrong if the squealy laugh from Jenny and a much more masculine laugh from her best friend was any indication.

She didn't want to sleep in her room because the wall between them was paper thin and it would be like they were going at it just beside her and she quivered in disgust at the thought. Reluctantly accepting that she would have to spend her time on the couch until they fall asleep, she pulled out the new book she had bought from her bag and sank on the chair with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair and her golden hair spread across the settee.

And before she knew it, she was sleeping with her book opened on her chest and one of her arms sprawled across her eyes, blocking the light.

Natsu strutted out of the door in just boxer, knowing that Lucy would probably be asleep since it was after midnight. Slicking his sweaty bangs back with his hand and scrunched up his nose at the smell of sweat and sex that was rolling off his body like a perfume. He definitely needed a shower.

Just like the girl sprawled out on his bed. Even before sex, she stink of heavy perfume and hair product. For someone who had a sensitive nose like him, it made him dizzy like he just walked into a salon. It was a good thing she was smoking hot or he would have walked away long ago.

He noticed that the light was still on outside and it was spotlessly clean. He smiled. His Luce had a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder and would sometimes yelled at him if he messed up the place too much but would end up cleaning it herself.

A quick shower followed by late night supper, he felt good as new again. He walked to light switch with the intention of switching the light off in the hallway but he saw a petite form spread-eagled across the couch and smiled to himself. Lucy had a habit of falling asleep while reading in the living room. He dog-eared the page turned and closed the book and put it on the coffee table

Placing his hands under her, he hoisted her gently into his arms and carried her to her room. Sniggering to himself when she let out soft snore as her head hit the pillow, he pulled the duvet up to her chin and kissed her soft forehead. She smelled faintly of vanilla and coconut and he decided he preferred this smell to Jenny's artificial one. Everything about Lucy reminded him of home; from her soft, hourglass figure, wheat blonde hair to her bright smile and he found himself craving the feeling more than anything.

He tiptoed out of the room and closed the door quietly. When he fall on the bed, Jenny immediately draped herself over him and he sighed. He really hated when women tried to cuddle or spoon with him after sex. It gave them an idea that it was more serious than it actually was even if they were named his girlfriend. He felt suffocated when their hot, bare skin touched his.

He gently rolled her over, carefully making sure not to wake her up and turned his back to her sleeping form and closed his eyes.

Lucy was awake by 6 o'clock without an alarm and padded towards kitchen for a cup of coffee. She was surprised to find herself back on her bed. The last thing she remembered was reading on the couch but figured Natsu probably carried her to her room. She smiled softly. Natsu always did that whenever she fall asleep elsewhere. She wondered if he gained his muscles by carrying her alone.

She heard the door opened while she was waiting for the coffee machine to be done followed by soft footsteps. She asked without turning back.

"Good morning. Coffee?"

All she got was a silence so, she finally turned around to see Jenny with full make-up in a large man's shirt frowning at her. It seemed like Miss Fiore woke up with a bitch face and continued her day like that.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucy raised her eyebrows delicately. Natsu hadn't told her about their living arrangement apparently.

"I live here. I'm Natsu's roommate."

She heard the click from the coffee machine and poured herself a cup with two cubes of sugar and plenty of milk. Jenny still wasn't talking.

"Do you want a coffee or not?"

"Why are you living with a boy who isn't in a relationship with you?"

Why did she have to talk about this first thing in the morning? Jenny would find herself kicked out of Natsu's life faster than she could say bye if she acted possessive like that.

"Cuz I'm his best friend and I need a roommate. Not that it's any of your damn business."

Jenny opened her mouth to undoubtedly retort rudely but another pair of footsteps shut her up efficiently.

"Good morning, ladies."

A deep gravelly voice of Natsu at the morning was definitely Lucy's aesthesis. Lucy grabbed the bright yellow cup with a red dragon on it from the top shelf, poured the coffee and handed it to Natsu without adding anything.

Natsu smiled at her gratefully and unconsciously stepped forward to kiss her cheek in thanks before he remembered his lady friend not standing three feet from them and stopped.

"Thanks, Luce."

They both finished the coffee standing around awkwardly with Jenny staring at them curiously. Natsu placed the empty coffee in the sink and informed them.

"I'm taking a shower first and I'm going for a morning jog."

Jenny finally spoke with a soft purr towards Natsu.

"Then, I'm going back to my apartment. Thanks for last night, Natsu. I'll see you later."

Natsu smiled smugly and winked at Jenny who giggled while Lucy rolled her eyes discreetly. He walked towards bathroom but stopped halfway and turned back.

"Oh Jenny. Leave my shirt on the bed after you change. Don't think of stealing it back to your place."

His tone was light and teasing but both girls could see from his dark onyx eyes that he was hundred percent serious.

A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews. I really deeply appreciate it. And the rest who read but don't review, thank your reading my humble story and I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Dear Anon reviewer who has a problem with brief GrayLu mention,

I would gladly PM you to explain but since I don't know your account, this will have to do. I apologize that you find Gray being Lucy's first to be gross and cliché but I'm not cutting that part out. It's necessary for the future chapters. But I don't you should have any more problem since those two are completely platonic now and this is not a GrayLu fic. However, I appreciate you voicing your concern regarding my fanfic. Please bear with me and my flaws and enjoy the rest of the chapters.

Sincerely,

Stars.