CHAPTER 3

[A/N: Finally done with this chappie, longest one so far, hope you like it, please tell me what you think by leaving me some reviews, THANKS TO ALL MY FAVORITES AND FOLLOWERS, I LOVE YOU ALL X3]

When Natsu got home he was greeted by a punch in the face from his foster father Igneel, got his ear chewed out by his foster mother Grandine, and to make him feel even worse he had to console his crying sister Wendy, he didn't realize he had been gone for 3 hours and didn't even think to ask Lucy when he woke up what the time was.

He was silently thankful that she had forced him to take a taxi home (even if he had to suffer through his motion sickness just to get home), if he had been any later they probably would have called the cops, and wouldn't that be the icing on the cake?

But cops were the least of his problems right now, he was bombarded with questions about where he was, why was he hurt, and if he knew how long he was out, did he get into trouble again?

Now, would you tell your overprotective mother, violent father and emotional sister, that you got into a fight and almost got beaten to a pulp, got rescued by a cute girl that couldn't harm a fly and gave you money for a taxi, all in a day?

Only if you had a death wish.

He could already picture their reactions; his dad would call him a stupid idiot for starting a fight, then makes fun of him for being rescued by a girl. His mother would yell at him, then gush over the fact that he interacted with an actual girl that wasn't Erza, his sister would blush at the mention of a boy being in a room alone with a girl, he was thankful that she was so young and be easily embarrassed about things like that.

So it goes without question that he lied through his teeth about where he was and what happened.

And his excuse was actually pretty well-thought out…

…he just blamed Erza.

That was enough to get his parents to leave him alone and calm down his sister.

He felt kind of bad for lying to them, but considering the consequences of telling the truth he'd rather live with the guilt.

After he took a shower and ate dinner he went straight to his room and collapsed on his bed. He was clad in nothing but his scarf and boxers; his usual nightwear.

He was staring at the ceiling in his room, thinking about the events that had occurred today, he was glad it was Saturday tomorrow; at least he didn't have to worry about Gray seeing his injuries, he was sure they'd be healed by Monday being the fast healer that he is, if Gray saw he was hurt he'd never let him live it down.

He was thinking about how much he wanted to beat up his stripper friend when a familiar scent crept up his nose.

He looked down at his scarf around his neck and took a deep whiff of it; it still had that vanilla/strawberry smell to it. He smiled softly thinking about how much he really liked the smell.

Lucy's image popped into his head, he saw her sweet smile when she called him her friend, the way she got embarrassed when he teased her, that lovely shade of red her face would turn when he said something that embarrassed her. He had always loved the colour red.

Suddenly when he realized what he was thinking his face flamed up, he had no idea why he was feeling this way about a girl he just met, he felt like some kind of pervert.

"Gaaah! What the hell am I thinking!?" he said as he started scratching his head violently, trying to shake the thoughts out of his brain.

And when he thought about how he kissed her cheek when he left he wished he could die in a hole somewhere.

"What the hell came over me, I acted like a total playboy back there" he said as he placed his hand over his face, feeling ashamed.

He was actually glad all he kissed was her cheek, when she asked him if she would see him again with THAT face, he wanted to kiss her full on the lips right there without warning. Thank Kami he at least had some control over his impulses, he was sure she would have slapped him or something, she was just so cute.

It wasn't only that though; Natsu felt this strange need to protect her, like if he wasn't around something would happen to her; this feeling was foreign to him. He had a similar need for his sister, don't all brothers? But it felt different when he felt it for Lucy, it definitely wasn't coz he saw her as a little sister, he'd feel pretty sick with himself if he wanted to kiss his sister like that.

Desperate to get his mind off of Lucy he turned on his radio wanting to drown out his thoughts with music…

"That Blonde, she's a bomb she's an atom bomb, rigged up and ready to drop, the bad news I'm a fuse and I've met my match, so stand back its about to go off!

That vixen, she's a master of disguise; I see danger when I look in her eyes. She's so foxy, she could lead to my demise, so I'm running coz I've run outta time.

She's a bombshell Blonde-"

Natsu's face was beet red, okay so music was not a good idea, now he was having other thoughts about Lucy, now that he thought about it she looked really sexy in her shrine maiden outfit…

"Gaaaahhhh!"

Natsu punched himself in the face, he wanted to know where all these creepy thoughts were coming from and how to get rid of them, but he didn't have anyone he was willing to ask so punching himself was his only option.

He knew right then that he wasn't going to sleep very well that night.

It was now Monday and Natsu was sitting in class waiting for the teacher to arrive…

Ok, that was a lie, right now he's sleeping with his head resting on his desk, and a trickle of drool was coming out of his mouth creating a small pool on his desk.

He was trying so hard to keep his mind off Lucy that he neglected his sleep, he couldn't help but wonder if this is what guys meant when they say that their women kept them up all night, but if that were true why were they always so happy when they said it? If anything he felt utterly drained, keeping a girl out of your head was tiring work.

"Natsu! Lets settle our fight from last week!" said a raven-haired guy as he entered the classroom.

This man is Gray Fullbuster; Natsu's friend/rival and habitual stripper, he was waiting the entire weekend to finish his and Natsu's last fight and now he was more pumped than ever.

Gray scanned the class for his pink-haired rival and spotted him by his desk; lying down facing the window.

Gray stomped his way to Natsu's desk, ready for a fight when he heard Natsu snoring he stopped before he got any further.

No way was he gonna let Natsu get out of this fight, he'd coax him into waking up if he had to.

"Hey, you hear me ya damn pyro, wake up you idiot!" he yelled in his ear.

Natsu stirred in his sleep and turned his head to face Gray, he mumbles something that Gray couldn't hear, he leaned in further so that he could try to make out what he was saying.

"What you say Pinkie?" he said as he put his head down closer so he could hear.

Natsu suddenly had a creepy grin show up on his face and said "Lucy is that red lace I see? You naughty girl…"

Grays face went blank; he backed away slightly and tried to process what he just heard.

Natsu… was dreaming…about a girl… WHAT!?

And by the sound of it he wasn't dreaming about anything innocent either. He never figured Natsu for a pervert, hell he didn't even think the guy was interested in women period, suddenly hearing something like this from him was a total shock.

If Erza heard what he said…

Gray visibly shuddered, the poor guy would get his ass beat and handed to him on a silver platter. Gray disliked Natsu but not enough to wish the wrath of Erza on him, he just hoped that he didn't mumble anymore when she got there.

"Gray, why is Natsu asleep? Class is going to start soon and I don't want him snoring during the lesson, it'll distract the other students!"

Speak of the red-haired devil, she sure does have a thing for timing.

"Uh, hey Erza, I don't know why he's sleeping I just got here myself" he said timidly.

Erza lifted a brow and stared at Gray wearily "Is that so? I was wondering why I didn't hear the sound of you boys fighting before I arrived, and here I was hoping you guys just chose not to fight today, how disappointing" she said as she shook her head in disappointment.

Yeah right, like he and Natsu would ever quit fighting each other, but he wasn't going to tell her that, he didn't want to die just yet.

"So have you tried waking him up yet?" she asked while crossing her arms.

Gray raised a brow at her "Your kidding right? You know that once this idiot falls asleep it takes a bulldozer to wake him up, I don't have the patience for that, let Gildarts handle the moron" he said while waving his hand.

Suddenly Natsu was upright but his eyes were still closed "You call that a hit you ice-princess, I'll show you…" then he fell back down on the desk and continued to sleep.

Gray felt a tick mark appear above his eyebrow "You woke up just to pick a fight with me!?" he yelled incredulously.

Erza chuckled a little, Natsu sure was a strange guy.

"Hehehe, I'll show you…" said Gray.

He grabbed a permanent marker out of his bag and started to draw on Natsu's face; he gave him a Hitler mustache, round eye-glasses and a set of whiskers.

"There, I feel much better now" he said as he took a step back to admire his work.

Erza just shook her head in disbelief, they may look like 18 year-old boys, but they have the brains of 5 year olds, especially Natsu.

"Mnmnm, Lucy that tickles" said Natsu as he wiped a part of his face where Gray drew the whiskers.

Erza froze, Lucy?

Erza couldn't recall ever meeting a 'Lucy' before, who was she?

"Gray do you know a 'Lucy' by any chance?" she asked curiously.

Gray shrugged his shoulders, he was just glad Natsu didn't say anything perverted this time, otherwise who knows what Erza would have done to him.

"Dunno, but the dudes been mumbling about her since I got here, must be some chick he met or something?" he suggested.

Erza thought for a moment, trying to recall if she had heard her name before. When she couldn't recall the name her curiosity got the better of her and she decided that she wanted answers from Natsu himself.

She started shaking Natsu gently on his shoulders "Natsu, wake up" she said.

"…"

She started shaking him harder "Natsu, I said get up" she said slightly louder.

"…"

She was losing her patience with him and could feel the tick marks appearing on her forehead.

Gray could see a dark aura oozing out of Erza as she tried to wake up Natsu, he was trying to send him telepathic signals telling him to GET THE HELL UP OR SHE WILL KILL YOU, but it didn't seem to be working. He prayed for Natsu, hoping that he would make it to heaven safely when she killed him.

Erza's body was shaking from rage, she was not a person to be ignored.

"I said get up Natsu!" she yelled, she then kicked his chair and made him fall face-first on the floor.

Gray cringed, that was definitely gonna leave a mark, but at least he's alive… right?

"Ouch, what the hell!?" said Natsu as he got up off the floor.

When he got up, he looked totally confused, he kept looking around to make sure he was seeing things right.

"When did I get to school?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

Erza and Gray just sweat dropped, Natsu was really out of it today.

"Natsu, you've been sleeping in class for the past 20 minutes, are you alright?" asked Erza.

Natsu looked at Erza confused, it seemed like he was still out of it.

"Oh, sorry bout that, haven't gotten much sleep lately-yawn~" he said.

Grays eyes widened; first he hears Natsu thinking dirty thoughts about a girl, now he hears that he hasn't been sleeping much!? Does that mean…

Wait, this is Natsu right? Gray sucked in his breath to contain his mild shock and tried to maintain his cool demeanor, he would think before he spat out wild accusations like Natsu bagging a chick before he did. Ha, that would be crazy.

"Is that so, that wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a girl named Lucy now would it?" he asked.

Natsu's eyes went wide, he stared at Gray incredulously then backed away from him slightly.

"…"

Erza and Gray raised a brow at Natsu's silence, which was a rare sight, and sent him questioning looks, but it didn't look like he was gonna budge so Erza decided she would simplify Grays question.

"So… would you mind telling us who she is?" she asked with her arms crossed.

Natsu flinched at Erza's tone, she sounded impatient, a bad thing for whoever caused it; in this case him.

"H-how did you guys hear about her?" he asked, avoiding eye contact with them.

"Well you were mumbling her name in your sleep, that's how…" said Gray, he leaned in to whisper the rest to Natsu "…and you were dreaming about her wearing red lacy underwear dude, didn't figure you for a pervert" he said with a smirk.

Erza looked at them confused, she didn't hear what Gray said but judging by Natsu's reaction it must have been something embarrassing.

Natsu's face went red, he remembered vaguely dreaming about seeing Lucy getting changed and seeing red lacy underwear, but he didn't think he would talk in his sleep!

And of all people to hear him it had to be Gray!? And to make it even worse Erza wanted to know as well.

He had to change the subject and fast, or else he would never live it down.

And luckily all he had to do was look at Gray for his escape.

"Who're you calling a pervert you damn streaker, I'd take a good look at myself before I called other people a pervert while I wasn't wearing anything but my boxers" said Natsu as he pointed at Gray.

Gray raised a brow then looked down at himself and saw that his clothes had gone missing.

"Gah! When did that happen!?" he asked no-one in particular as he scrambles around for his missing clothes.

Natsu smirked at his smooth way of avoiding talking about Lucy, no doubt that if he told Gray and Erza about her they'd tease him about her forever.

Erza sent Natsu a glare that had him quivering "Don't think you've avoided this Natsu, we will get answers" she said in a low growl.

Natsu gulped, so much for avoiding the question, there's no saying no to the terrifying Erza.

"Yes ma'am" he said dejectedly.

*Briiiiiing*

The class proceeded to take their seats after hearing the bell and waited for their homeroom teacher to show up. Well all except for Natsu who went to sleep again the minute he sat down.

After waiting for 5 minutes their classrooms sliding door flew open so fast that it actually flew out of place.

"Shit, not again" said the person who opened the door.

The class just sweat dropped, this actually happened on a regular basis with their teacher; he didn't know how to hold back at all, and to make it worse he's a master mixed martial artist too.

"Gildarts-sensei, that's the third door you've broken in a week now, the headmaster wont get new ones for us if you always keep breaking them!" shouted Erza.

Gildarts got to his front desk and had a sheepish grin on his face, Erza huffed in annoyance, their teacher acted like more of a child than a grown man, definitely a bad influence for Natsu; who admired him.

Gildarts scanned his class and noticed a pink tuft of hair was sleeping on a desk.

"Erza why is Natsu asleep?" he asked, knowing that Erza knew everything before he did anyway.

Erza crossed her arms and glanced at the pink-haired boy "Evidently he was up all night thinking about some girl, at least that's what we heard" she said as she looked at Gray.

Gildarts burst out laughing, Natsu thinking about something other than food and fighting, yeah right, who knew Erza had a sense of humor.

"Good one Erza, whew~" he said as he calmed down.

Erza just shrugged her shoulders, it didn't matter either way to her if he believed her or not so she didn't try to convince him.

"Well did someone at least draw on his face yet, or can I have the honors?" he said with an evil grin.

"Sorry Gildarts, beat ya to it" said Gray with a smirk.

Gildarts laughed "Ha, figures you get to him first Gray, as expected of you guys!" he said.

Gray smirked while Erza just shook her head in disbelief and the entire class just sweat dropped.

"Permanent marker?" asked Gildarts with a grin.

Gray smirked and gave Gildarts a thumbs up, and that was all he needed to know.

While poor Natsu knew absolutely nothing.

The song on the radio was OWL CITY-BOMBSHELL BLONDE (dont you think it fits Lucy perfectly?!)

[A/N: Ok no Lucy here, but a lot of embarrassing moments for Natsu though, will write her in the next chapter so don't worry, the fluff is still coming. PLEASE LEAVE ME REVIEWS! ARIGATO]