If any of you reading this is from, or had been in, Rome, I apologize if I am way off on anything. I am just writing about the perfect place in my mind, and it happens to be positioned where Rome is. If it bothers anyone too much, just pretend it isn't the Rome you're thinking of.
"I'm going to assign you all partners for this project!" Mr. Young, the history teacher called out. Lucy found it weird that he last name was young, when he was actually very old. She figured he had to be at least sixty, which was like a dinosaur, in her mind.
Lucy didn't realize she zoned out. All she heard was her name, then saw everyone get up and move around.
"You weren't paying attention," Gray said. He pulled a chair over to Lucy's desk. He set a paper down that had a bunch of writing on it.
"I heard him say something about a project," she admitted.
"We are going to start learning about Italy, so we all have to pick a topic to present," Gray explained. "We're partners, just in case you missed that."
"Fantastic," she said. She rested her head in her hand and started twirling her pen. "What's our topic?"
"You were the one that was in Rome, so what was most interesting? What made it different then most places?"
Lucy thought a moment. She remembered the humid climate, the breezy nights, the misty mornings, and the fresh, crisp air. Despite her hair sticking up, she loved the weather there. After her two years there, she started to care less about her hair.
"How about the education system?" she asked. "I learned a lot more than I should have in two years. You don't take tests, and everything is at your own pace."
"Alright, let's go with that." Gray scribbled their topic on a small piece of paper and took it up to Mr. Young. He nodded in approval and typed their topic into the computer.
"Come, on!" Natsu yelled. "Lisanna and I were going to do that!" He held up his own paper, proving his point.
"You like food, right?" Lucy asked. Natsu nodded. "You should research the food. They have really great seafood. I've never tasted anything like the spices they use. I bet you could even find a few recipes to try."
"That's a great idea! Thanks, Luce!" Natsu said happily. He told the teacher his topics then ran back over to Lisanna.
"Lucy, have you been to Rome?" Mr. Young asked the blonde. She nodded. "You don't look Italian."
"I'm from Japan," Lucy said. She saw he interested look in her teacher's eyes.
"Where else have you been?"
In the end, Lucy and Gray didn't get to work on their project at all. She spent the whole class period telling Mr. Young about her travels. Gray was starting to think that Lucy was smarter than she was acting. She talked with better grammar than most of the seniors, which really put out a red flag. She even knew the history of every country she visited, which was a lot. She said after she left Rome, she didn't stay in one place longer than a week.
Lucy was really glad lunch came after history. After her PE class the period before, she could use a break. She was tired physically and mentally.
"Did you guys know that Lucy is actually smart?!" Natsu asked his friends happily. Lucy rolled her eye and took a drink of her water.
"Of course she's smart," Laxus said. "We share the same blood, after all."
"Don't forget where you got that blood," Layla said, appearing behind Laxus. She had her forearms in his shoulders, and she was leaning over him.
"What's up, Miss Star?" Loke asked. He had that sparkle in his eyes. Everyone thought it was creepy that he had his eyes on the gym teacher, but that didn't stop him from trying.
"I just came by to get Lucy," she said. She smiled sweetly at her daughter. She earned herself a scowl. "Come on, lets go talk." Lucy reluctantly followed her to the gym.
"What's this about?" Lucy asked. She scowled as her mother started dribbling a basketball.
"I just want to know how everything's going," Layla said. She picked the ball up and started spinning it on her finger.
"You could have asked me that at home," Lucy said. She didn't understand why she would have to walk all the way down to the gym, just to be asked about her life.
"You can't refuse to talk at school," Layla pointed out. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Now, tell me about school."
"It's school. Can I go now?" Lucy was starting to get impatient.
"How's it going with Gray?" Layla stopped spinning the ball. She turned and shot it into the basket. She missed. She retrieved the ball and tried again, making it in that time. She dribbled the ball back to her daughter.
"What do you mean by 'it'?" Lucy asked. "There is nothing going on." Layla laughed. "What the hell is so funny?!"
"Hey, don't swear. I could give you detention for that," Layla scolded. "And don't tell me nothing's going on. Gray obviously likes you."
"That's a lie." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to deny it. It's not like it mattered if he liked her.
"I've known him for a long time. I've seen him in relationships before. I know what he's like when he likes someone. Every time he does, I tell him to just ask her out, and everything works out fine."
"This is what you wanted to talk to me about, isn't it?" Lucy asked. She could tell that Layla has wanted to say this for a while now.
"You're pretty sharp," Layla said. "I don't see why you dislike him so much. He's smart, has a car, a job, respectful, nice to everyone, he's attractive, and he doesn't get into trouble."
"That's a pretty long list. Are you sure that you aren't the one after him?" Lucy asked. She started walking away.
"He's perfect for you," Layla said. Lucy ignored her last comment and kept walking.
X
"I think we should add another picture here," Gray said, pointing to a spot on the poster. He was a little surprised at how easy the project was. Lucy told him what to write down, and he glued pictures on.
"Are you even listening?" he asked. Lucy was leaning against her couch, her arms around her knees. She was blankly staring at the floor. "Lucy," he whined.
"What?" she asked. She didn't even look up from the floor. She had been looking at the floor since Gray started putting everything together, which was over twenty minutes ago.
"Hey, are you okay?" He noticed her worried look. He was starting to notice emotions behind her blank stares the more time he spent with her.
"I'm fine," she snapped. The room fell silent once again.
"I don't need perfect," she said through grit teeth after a few minutes. She stood up and ran to her room.
"What?" Gray asked aloud. He didn't say anything about anything being perfect. What was she talking about?
X
"Sorry, but I have to go fill out some paperwork. You'll have to practice by yourself," Layla said. Gray had come for his private martial arts practice.
"That's alright," he said. He went to the storage room and brought out the practice dummy. It was a large cylinder packed with foam. The base was filled with water, so he always made it his goal to knock it over.
Gray roundhouse kicked the dummy. He knocked it over on his first try. He put it back up and kicked it again. After eight more times, he switched feet. He went through this process with a few more kicks, then moved to punching it.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asked. She came down the stairs wearing sweatpants and a shirt. She sighed when she realized that she was currently matching Gray. She really didn't understand why she put her martial outfit in with her clothes. She should have just gave it back to Layla.
"Practicing," he said. He swung at it one last time and knocked it over.
"Whatever you say," she said in a sing-song voice. She went over to the counter and grabbed the stack of papers Layla asked for.
"Hey, it's harder than it looks."
"How hard is it to knock a big piece of foam over?" Lucy asked.
"You couldn't do it," Gray said.
"Of course I could do it."
"Please, let's see it," he said sarcastically. Lucy set her papers down and walked over to the dummy. "Roundhouse kick it."
Lucy watched that kick so many times, she knew what to do. She swung her shin into the dummy. Instead of it going down, she gasped in pain and fell to the ground.
"Beautiful," Gray said, clapping. Lucy shot him a glare. "I knew you couldn't do it."
"I can do it!" she yelled. She soon back up.
"Here, put your knee up," Gray said. He stood behind her and grabbed her hips. "Now turn her hips." She blushed and did what she was told. "Point your toe, and snap out." She liked the dummy and it shook slightly.
"Okay, I got it," Lucy said, taking a step away from Gray. The words her mom told her in the gym the day before rang in her mind. She blushed and looked at floor.
"Okay, try again," Gray said Lucy put her knee up, turned, then tried snapping her foot out like she did before. She lost her balence and fell, but Gray caught her. She blushed harder and pushed away from him, falling on the floor in the process. She wasn't exactly sure when she became such a clutz.
"Are you okay?" Gray asked, kneeling in front of her. He realized what was wrong when he saw her red face. "Aw, do I make you blush?" he asked.
"Sh-shut up!" she stuttered.
"It's okay, I know I'm hot," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. He watched her face turn slightly more red.
"Lucy?" Layla asked, walking down the stairs. "Did you find the papers?" She walked over to the table and picked up the papers. She looked over towards Lucy and Gray. She had a perfect view of Lucy's red face. Lucy pushed Gray back and covered her face.
"You two are so adorable," Layla said before going back upstairs.