prompt fifty one: crush

rate: T for Teens and Up

Fifty one out of one hundred.

I know what y'all want and it's not this… BUT DEAL WITH IT. YOU EAT WHAT MAMA FEEDS YOU.

"Some crushes just never went away. They built, instead, into something permanent, obsessive and all-consuming." — Maya Banks

x

.

The hot sun was beating down on her, temperatures hitting almost one hundred and leaving her to melt away in the hot summer heat. Her t-shirt was drenched in sweat and clung onto her body like a glove making her feel even more uncomfortable with the cotton rubbing against her skin. Sweat drenched her golden locks, plastering them on her forehead and neck as beads of sweat trailed down from her hairline.

Lucy wasn't the biggest fan of hot weather. Sweating. Bugs. Body odor. The list goes on.

Pretty ironic since she was a camp counselor for the summer. She had to be stuck outside with a bunch of little kids who scream their heads off and try to make her life a living hell.

On the bright side, she did this with her best friend and she convinced her to do it with her over the summer with the idea of free lodging, food, and of course, excellent pay. The private summer camp that had a tuition of at least five grand had all sorts of children coming in. Essentially, a really expensive daycare where parents could dump their children off for a good three months without having to worry about them over the summer.

Children from the ages of seven to thirteen ran around everywhere, having nearly one hundred children with only twenty adults in camp to watch over them.

It's a miracle how nobody had died yet, both adults and children included, and while it was only a month into camp, Lucy was regretting agreeing to this tedious arrangement her best friend had convinced her to do.

"Hey! Michael!" Lucy shouted at one of her campers who were getting off trail and trying to bring along a rather large fallen branch with them. "No! Absolutely not. What did we talk about earlier?"

"If it is bigger than my hand or alive, I can't bring it with me." He repeated their earlier conversation with a pout on his lips.

"Exactly. So put the stick down and follow the line," Lucy pointed at the ground with one hand on her hip and the younger one huffed before tossing it onto the ground, sulking. "We're about to go to sports. You love sports."

"I would have loved it more with my stick." He huffed, walking ahead of her to catch up to his friends and Lucy could only sigh, shaking her head.

Leave it to her to watch over ten campers who were too sassy for her own good. How did she get stuck with the younger group? They were too emotional for her sanity. A bunch of ten year olds were nothing but trouble.

And it was sports day and that only meant one thing.

More trouble.

Reaching the open field where the spots were held, Lucy could already see the other group of campers running around the field, conjoining hers and theirs in one large group. She could see Wendy, one of the youngest counselors, rushing to gather the kids but to her dismay, nobody listened. As far as she could see, they were outnumbered and she hoped nobody got hurt.

Unlike Wendy who was striving to be a good counselor, Lucy preferred her kids to do what they wanted as long as they were safe and having fun. Of course the rules mattered and they were there to enforce it but in an instance like this one, she would much rather have them run themselves tirelessly so she didn't have to wrestle them to bed later tonight. One of the other reasons why she loved sports day.

She went right to where Gray stood, the shirtless male with his whistle around his neck standing near a sack of soccer balls. He looked like he was gathering all things needed for their event today and once he caught sight of the blonde, she offered a smile.

"Yo, Lucy!"

"Hey, Gray," She came over to see the set of cones and balls. "Hot day, huh?"

"When is it not?" He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his chest heaving. "I can't wait till it's winter."

"Alright, Jack Frost," Lucy joked as she kicked at the sack. "What's on the agenda today besides soccer?"

"I don't know, Natsu went to go get the other stuff from the storage." Gray jerked his thumb towards the small shed and Lucy stared at it for far too long.

Natsu Dragneel. The head of the sports department along with Gray. Obnoxiously loud with vibrant pink hair and a grin that could be considered lethal. Twenty years young. Tall.

And… Lucy's summer crush.

It was ridiculous that someone of her age had a crush. Granted, she was still twenty years old but it still felt weird to think she had a crush on a guy. She wasn't in high school anymore nor was she a kid but what was with this guy that had her so swoon?

She felt like a little school girl everytime she was near him and she hated how her entire face would heat up and her heart would skip a beat whenever he was near. She was sure he probably thought of her as one of the others who would giggle and blush around the male seeing as he was popular at camp and even the little ones found him irresistibly attractive. Though there was no competition, the fact that there were other beautiful counselors here made it hard for her to think she even had a chance with him.

He was just so… him.

And she was just… her.

But of course they also had the no fraternizing rule between the counselors. That was just asking for trouble with twenty twenty-something year olds and little kids.

"Yo! Lucy!" His voice startled her and she could already feel her heart beginning to pick up speed and her cheeks flush. The smirk Gray tossed her way only had her glaring and as she clutched her imaginary pearls, she slowly turned to face the grinning counselor who was coming towards them.

"Don't pass out now."

"Shut up, Gray!"

"We have your group for the day, how exciting!" He came right to her with a wide grin on his face. He had a bunch of hula hoops around his neck and a sac of jerseys to his side. He wasn't shirtless like Gray was but Lucy knew exactly what was under his t-shirt. The first time she saw him shirtless was when she had come to camp and he was taking a dip into the lake, showing off his god-like body that had her drooling.

Their first encounter wasn't the greatest either considering she just stood there staring at him. Okay, more so gawking at him as he emerged from the water dripping wet and so tan and so hot. She was pretty sure she short circuited.

"Uh… Lucy?"

Lucy blinked stupidly at the sound of her name and she realized she was just staring at him like some weirdo. Again.

Her face heated up even further and she blamed it on the weather, twisting her head to hide her face. "Y—yeah! Exciting!" Lucy repeated, wanting to go bang her head against the wall. "I'm going to go get my kids!"

Quickly running away to find the space to breathe and calm down, Lucy could only curse inside of her head for being so obviously stupid. When will this crush just end?

—X—

Another reason why she loved sports was that she was allowed to spend the majority of it sitting in the shade and watching her kids tire themselves out. She had been carrying around books with her in her backpack to keep her occupied and normally she wouldn't have time to just sit back and read, there were times like this where she could.

And it helped her watch Natsu from afar with her nose inside of a book, sneaky peeks going unnoticed and her blush being able to get covered up by the novel.

Gray and Natsu were in charge of the sports department in camp which meant while she and some of the other counselors rotated around during the days to which activity, these two remained here all day. Once activities were put to a halt for the day, they helped out wherever they were needed and sometimes, Lucy wished she could have had her own department than following around children and ensuring none of them got hurt.

Maybe next year, if she was willing to do this again, she would sign up for a specific department. Arts and craft looked easy and fun enough and she would be inside of a nice air conditioned building.

At least she'll have a nice tan for the summer.

Getting absorbed into her novel, Lucy leaned back against the large tree to get comfortable. Her legs were planted right in front of her, knees bent and book leaning against her thighs in the process. Her eyes went through each and every line, enjoying the plot as she began to get real invested. But of course as soon as she started to enjoy herself, someone had to come ruin it.

And by someone, she means a pink-haired man who seemed to love getting her all flustered.

"You really going to just sit there and read?" He stood in front of her, a soccer ball being held against his side by his arm. He gently nudged her calf with his foot, giving her a small pout. "Come play with us!"

Her cheeks were instantly flushed at the close proximity they held and she tried to shrink down, holding up her book against her face. "I—I'm not athletic at all… and you and Gray seem to be handling it just fine. Wendy even seems to be doing great!" The blonde saw how Wendy was running around the field with the children, chasing after the soccer ball.

"We can play teams if you join."

"You have twenty kids right here. You can have teams now."

"Stop being such a buzzkill! Come on, Luce, let's play a game of flag football!" He came down to a squat, coming eye level with the blonde who had to reel back at the closeness. Her face bloomed with color and she cursed her body for betraying her so quickly, heart pounding behind her chest. "You alright? Your face is really red." He reached over to press his palm against her forehead and Lucy felt dizzy. "Are you drinking enough water? You do know it's over one hundred degrees today. You need to take care of yourself. Wear enough sunscreen and drink plenty of water."

Lucy could die right now. Having Natsu's palm on her face and being this close to her was doing all sorts of things to her.

She sputtered, slapping his hand away while she scrambled to get up. "I—I'm fine! Fine! It's just hot! Let's go play some flag football!" She nearly screamed, keeping distance between them.

The smirk he gave her only made her knees feel like jello but she was quick to run over to Gray, wanting to create some distance between them before she passed out from the excitement.

There goes her plans for wanting to read her book. She swore Natsu could convince her to do anything as long as he continued to grin at her.

"What's this? You're actually playing?" Gray had a smirk to his lips as the blonde approached with a red face.

"Shut up and give me the damn jersey." Lucy snatched the neon mesh jersey from his hands. "One game. That's it." She gave him a glare and Gray merely just snickered.

"Flag football!" Gray shouted out, making the kids turn and look at him. "Come and get your jerseys! We're makin' teams!"

"Miss Lucy! Are you joining in, too?" Luna, a bright-eyed silver-haired girl, came bouncing over to her.

Lucy offered a soft smile, leaning over to come eye level with her. "Just one game. We have to show the boys who's the best, right?"

The little girl squealed, rushing over to grab the neon colored jersey from Gray to join Lucy's team. After giving the jerseys to the respected genders, the boys stuck to one side while the girls went to the other. The jersey was large and hung off Wendy's body just like the little kids, earning some teasing from the group. She was the youngest one out of all the counselors at the ripe age of sixteen, the blue-haired teen returning to the camp as she had been one of the campers not that long ago.

Now with teams being established as it was boys versus girls, Lucy was suddenly feeling more anxious about this as she looked at the other team. Of course since this was still a kid-friendly game, it was two handed touch and nobody was to get too aggressive but that didn't stop boys from being boys.

She knew a couple of her own were dying to tackle one another and do some roughhousing. She just hoped none of them were going to come after her.

With the whistle being blown and kickoff getting started, Lucy could only watch the ball fly into the air as Natsu kicked it. She could see the tiny humans run around trying to see if they could catch it but what she wasn't expecting was the ball to come right to her. Her eyes were wide and as she stuck her arms out to maybe repel the stupid thing, it came landing right into her arms.

Lucy was shocked at how well this has gone for her considering she's never been the athletic type at all. She couldn't even throw a ball straight nonetheless catch one.

A teeny tiny part of her wondered if it was because Natsu had kicked it but she quickly shook that thought away when she looked up to see Natsu, Gray, and a crowd of boys run right at her.

She shrieked before she was making a dash for it, dodging the tiny hands and fists that belonged to the kiddos. She made sure her flags were still on her waist and she felt her legs burn with how fast she was running. The hot humid air did nothing for her but blast hot air in her face, resulting in her sweating even more.

When she turned over her shoulder to check if anyone was close enough to tag her, her heart nearly leaped out of her throat at the sight of Natsu right behind her with a smirk to his lips. She could see Gray coming in on the other side with a bunch of boys chasing after her and her eyes rounded out, panic rising inside of her chest.

"You ain't getting away that easy, Lucy!"

She shrieked as she picked up the pace, sprinting to the other side of the field where she could hopefully make it to the end but all that was thrown out the window when she heard the familiar sound of Velcro ripping. She turned her head to see Natsu had grabbed her flag on her waist and yanked it off, forcing her to stop and admit defeat at the sight of the super hot counselor holding onto her flag.

She was panting heavily but Natsu didn't seem winded at all as he stood there with a hand on his hip and one holding the flag up. Cheers from the boys rang through her ears but all Lucy could taste was the blood in her mouth as she struggled to breath once again.

"C—cheater!"

"Talk about being a sore loser," he laughed, coming over to grab the ball from her arms. She stiffened and flushed crimson at the way he came so close to her, his fingers brushing against her arms in the process. "At least you got pretty far."

"I could have won," she grumbled, averting her gaze to the ground, kicking at the dirt.

The way he grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder had her jumping up, eyes widening as she jerked her head up to see him look right at her. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart threatening to burst from her chest nor the large blush that was most definitely painting her chest and her ears. Maybe he'll think it was because of the heat and exercise.

"Don't worry, Luce, you're always a winner in my eyes."

She had no idea what that even meant as she stared right at him, baffled at the idea he was even saying such a thing to her and smiling at her as if she had offered him something sweet. Her knees felt like jello and she was unsure if it was due to the fact that she ran for the first time in years or just the fact that Natsu was telling her she was a winner to him.

"Miss Lucy! Miss Lucy!" A chant of her name startled her out of her daydream and she looked down to see a mass group of campers rushing to her. "Are you and Mr. Natsu boyfriend and girlfriend?"

If she thought it was bad now, it had gotten one hundred times worse.

She sputtered, feeling her heart stop and her face burst into flames. "W—w—what!" She shrieked, seeing how the girls began to giggle and dance around the two. "N—no! No! Mr. Natsu and I are not—!"

"Fraternizing on the job? Someone call HR!" Gray sang, jogging over to the group.

Lucy felt like she could drop dead now.

"Nothing is going on!" Lucy shouted, feeling all sorts of emotions rush through her as Gray laughed and the campers sang.

When she finally risked it to look at Natsu, she could see his eyebrows were furrowed but he was more focused on the girls that were dancing around him in a circle. The moment he lifted his head and locked eyes with her, that panty dropping grin of his had her heart skipping and her body betraying her once again.

Feeling the nudge coming from her side, Lucy looked over to see counselor Wendy standing beside her with a sly smile on her lips.

"You guys liiiike each other."

—X—

The thing with crushes is that they continue to develop and pester you the more you think about the said crush and the more you happen to see said crush. It made it hard that she was constantly hearing about him from counselors and campers combined but he was also her co-worker in the middle of the woods at a summer camp for the entire summer. So of course her crush would only grow because he was everywhere.

Even in this goddamn cafeteria where a bunch of loud children couldn't even dare rip her attention away from a certain sweaty man.

He was so handsome. So hot. So gorgeous.

It was maddening.

Aggressively stabbing her corn, Lucy could only scowl at her dinner plate that consisted of steam corn, mashed potatoes, and roast. Her roll had a bite into it where she decided it was too dry for her and she had resorted into shanking her food to get rid of the queasy feeling that was bubbling inside of her gut.

Why did he have to be so handsome? Why did she have to crush on this man like some kind of sixteen year old freak? Why did he have to work here out of all the fucking places in the world?

"Yo, Lucy!"

And why the hell does he have to come rattle her like this?

Jumping in her seat, her knee shot up to bang against the underside of the table and she hissed out in pain. She hoped she didn't look too stupid during the process as she looked up at him with tears pricking her eyes and her knee pulsing.

"Y—yeah?"

"You alright there?" He asked, brows furrowed. "You've been pretty jumpy today."

"Just tired," she waved it off, offering him a small smile. "What's up?"

"You coming to the bonfire later tonight?"

Even if she didn't want to, her kids definitely did and she knew how well that conversation was going to go if she told them she didn't want to. Technically, bonfires aren't mandatory events and if the counselor decides not to go, another counselor could always offer to take their kids as well but adding yet another ten into a group and having to herd twenty kids was a shitshow. So, most likely, yes, because Lucy was a sucker for puppy-eyes and she can't find it inside of her to tell them no.

"Probably."

"Sweet! Save me a spot. I'll make ya one of my famous s'mores!" He gave her a wide grin which forced her heart to skip once again.

"O—okay..!" She could only stutter out, embarrassment swelling inside of her chest.

He looked like he was about to say something else but his name got called over from the other side of the cafeteria making him turn and squint.

"Sorry, Luce, I gotta go." He let out a sigh, turning back over to give her a frown. "But you're going to save me a seat, right?"

"R—right!" She replied back and she wished she could just crawl into a hole and die. "I'll see you at the bonfire."

"See you at the bonfire." He merely grinned before he was making his way over to the other side of the cafeteria.

Instances like this made her want to bang her head against a brick wall till she bled out because why the hell was she so excited and giddy at the fact Natsu asked her to save her a seat and would make her a nice delicious s'more?

Lucy has never been so excited to attend a bonfire.

—X—

By the time night fell and her campers had gotten themselves clean and ready for one last activity, Lucy wondered if she was being too excited while trying to rush them. Technically, the sooner they were there, the sooner she could come back and go to sleep so in a way it wasn't all about a rosy-haired counselor. Not at all.

With her last kid coming out of the bathroom with his hair all wet and poofed up from the towel he was using, Lucy let out a sigh of relief to know all her kids were now showered and dressed for the night out. She counted heads to ensure all ten were still present and when she concluded she had everyone accounted for, she got them out the door to walk over to the bonfire site.

The night sky was clear with bright stars twinkling up above her and it only made her smile to see the familiar constellations twinkling right back. While being a summer camp counselor wasn't the most ideal, it really was nice to see the array of stars every night. The light pollution was zero to nothing deep in the woods and it gave her the perfect painting of her favorite thing in the entire world.

Once coming closer to the site, the chatter from excited campers echoed and she could hear the crackle of the fire. There were a bunch of kids sitting and roasting marshmallows, some of them tucked away in the corner to talk and find all sorts of critters to play with.

Her kids dispersed like a wave and she went right over to where her blue-haired best friend was hunched over the fire, a bag of marshmallows in her hands. Once she caught sight of the blonde, she beamed, ushering her over.

"Lu! Want a marshmallow?"

"Sure!" Lucy said as she sat down beside her, her hazel eyes taking in her surroundings to see if she could catch a glimpse of her summer crush. "Is everyone here tonight?"

"Not everyone. Mirajane and Elfman are staying back and I think maybe Laxus, Freed, and Bixslow are, too. I know Gray and Juvia are around somewhere. Gajeel just went to go get more marshmallows and chocolate." Levy frowned as she was trying to think, her own eyes roaming the area. "But I don't know."

Lucy just nodded, grabbing for a stick on the side to stab her soft sugary treat through. She turned over to hover it over the large fire, other sticks from other campers also hovering beside her own and she wondered where Natsu might be. Did he still want her to save him a seat? Should she save him a seat? Would that be weird?

And as if the universe knew she was thinking about him, the said devil came right beside her and startled her out of her thoughts.

She squealed as she dropped her stick, the entire thing getting swallowed into the flame and she watched as her nice toasted marshmallow turned into a burnt goop.

"Oh man, did I do that?" He sucked in air through his teeth, giving her a sheepish look when she turned to glare at him. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"Hey, Natsu!" Levy said, leaning over to wave and smile, completely oblivious to Lucy's current flustered state.

"Hey, Levy." He waved right back before looking back at her. "Well, I did promise you one of my famous s'mores. I'll just have to make you two." He bumped her leg with his. "Scooch."

She hesitated for a minute, unsure why her body was not listening to her but eventually scooted over enough to give him the space to sit. Once he did, Lucy felt her entire body tense and she was hyper aware of his thigh touching hers. It was pretty much the only thing she could focus on besides the fact that Natsu was stabbing four innocent marshmallows through a stick.

"You see, the trick to a good s'more is to have a slightly crisper outer shell." He explained, a boyish grin on his face as he kept the stick between his legs to keep it up while he continued his task.

"You mean burnt?"

"No. Slightly crisper outer shell." He repeated while turning to face her and she nearly fell off the log when she noticed how close they were. His shoulder was touching hers and his thigh was warm pressed against hers making her heart race wildly and the tips of her ears to burn. Luckily, it was dark out now so he couldn't see how red she really got. "There's a difference."

"Right." She eyed him skeptically, watching his handiwork as he finally got the stick by the fire. He caught them on fire almost immediately and when Lucy opened her mouth to warn him, he brought it back to have the flames lick at them for a moment longer before he blew it out. "So… not burnt?"

The marshmallows that were once pure white had turned dark black and Natsu swiveled his head over to look at her again, a playful gleam in his eyes. "Slightly crisper outer shell, Luce. Slightly—"

"—crisper outer shell. Got it." Lucy finished for him and the way he grinned had her heart skipping again.

She watched in awe as Natsu carefully grabbed the marshmallow and began to pull up, having the outside shell slip off as if it was some kind of glove, leaving the gooey middle still on the stick.

"See?" He held out the shell to her. "Slightly crispy." He popped the thing into his mouth and crunched down on it.

Lucy couldn't help but smile right back at how cute he was with his cheeks puffed out and how he now held a 'slightly crisper' outer shell out to her. She hesitantly took it from him and looked down at the burnt marshmallow shell and she wondered if she could just toss it behind her shoulder when he wasn't looking and pretend it was good.

She wasn't a fan of burnt marshmallows and she preferred her s'mores lightly toasted to golden brown but this came from her goddamn crush and she'll be damned if she didn't eat what he gave her.

So without a second thought, Lucy tossed it into her mouth and crunched down on it like he did not that long ago and the flavor that bursted into her mouth shocked her more.

"O—oh wow… this is…"

"Good, huh?"

"Really good." She nodded, covering her mouth as she chewed. "Is this the famous Dragneel s'more?"

"Nah," he snickered, his stick back in the fire where he rotated it every couple seconds. "That's next. You just had a little appetizer."

Tingles rushed up and down her spine with how easy it was to talk to him and she knew why everyone was so fascinated with him. That and his handsome features of course. But it still didn't help that her heart felt like it was going to burst through her chest and her face felt ten times hotter with the flames and his presence. She could still feel the burn of his leg and shoulder touching her.

Levy had snuck away sometime when she wasn't looking as she could see her and Gajeel by the other bonfire, passing out more marshmallows and chocolate to those who were new and those who wanted more.

By the time she had turned back to look at Natsu after she had made sure all her kids were still alive and breathing, he had thrusted a s'more her way.

"Here we go! One Dragneel special for the lady!"

The gooey treat was dripping between her fingers and she dodged the gloop of chocolate that fell down onto the dirt ground. She didn't hesitate to bite into it, the delicious sugary taste exploding in her mouth where chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker met. She moaned in delight, enjoying the 'slightly crisper outer shell' Natsu was so insistent about.

"Wow," she said, nodding her head, hand held in front of her open mouth. "You weren't kidding."

His laugh made her chest flutter and she flushed at the way he nudged her, the contact leaving pinpricks on her skin.

"You're welcome."

The silence was filled with crackles from the fire and laughter from the children. The wilderness sang its song of crickets and other creatures lurking in the night leaving the dark woods filled with sound. Lucy was actually pretty comfortable for once and she didn't know if it had anything to do with Natsu being so close to her or the fact she had been settled into this place for nearly a month now.

She was afraid of the dark woods once she came here and as she listened to the crickets chirp and the nightowls hoot, she was finding comfort in it.

"Who taught you how to make the best s'mores?" Lucy wanted to continue the conversation as she was almost done with her treat, seeing how Natsu was roasting more marshmallows on his stick.

When he turned to look at her, his eyes fell on her lips and he bursted into laughter which had her face flushing.

"W—what?"

"You're so cute, Lucy. Here," he stuck his stick into the dirt to hold it upright as he turned his entire body to face her. His knees knocked into hers and as she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, her breath hitched as Natsu grabbed her chin. She swore her heart stopped, her eyes widened as she watched him lick at his thumb before he was rubbing the corner of her mouth. It sent involuntary shivers down her back and she hoped Natsu couldn't hear how fast her heart was pounding. "You got chocolate all over your face."

The soft brush of his thumb against the corner of her mouth was electrifying and she held her breath. She watched how concentrated he was in his task, his eyebrows knitted together with his tongue poking out of his lips.

She just really wondered how they would feel against hers. Would they be as soft as they looked? As warm and inviting as he was being right now?

Her eyes slowly trailed up his face, leaving those luscious lips to find his dark eyes pinned on her own. When did he get so close? If she just leaned in, their lips would touch.

Emotions she couldn't quite read swirled behind his glossy orbs and she parted her lips to speak but nothing came out, his thumb and pointer finger still pinching her chin to keep her facing him. He seemed like he wanted to say something but as soon as he opened his mouth, Gray's obnoxious voice yanked them apart.

"Wait till Mira hears about this," He snickered as he came over with Juvia in tow.

Lucy's entire face grew crimson and she gawked at him, looking at the smirking male while Natsu scowled, glaring at him in the darkness.

"Juvia did not know Lucy and Natsu were dating."

"We—we're not!" Lucy sputtered out, trying to create some space between her and Natsu. It made her a bit sad to not feel his thigh pressed against hers anymore but she really couldn't risk others knowing about… whatever this was.

"We were just talking." Natsu said, eyeing Gray the entire time he came around to pick up the bag of marshmallows and dig inside of it.

"Talking two inches away from each other's faces?"

"Natsu was helping me get something off my face!"

"With what? His mouth?"

"Shut up ice-prick." Natsu hissed, kicking at the log he sat himself on making Gray wobble and Juvia shoot her arms out to try and catch him. Luckily, he caught his footing and glared at the rosy-haired counselor.

"Don't be mad at me. I don't care what you two do when nobody's looking."

"We weren't doing anything!" Lucy nearly shrieked, feeling flustered and completely exhausted.

"So Natsu and Lucy aren't dating?" Juvia asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"No!" Lucy shouted but lowered her voice when people grew hush around her. She shrank down in her seat and grumbled under her breath, grabbing for something to stuff her mouth to keep her occupied.

"Regardless, it's none of your business."

"Whatever." Gray scoffed, tossing up the white sugar treat in the air to try and catch it in his mouth. He missed as it hit his cheek, rolling onto the ground where a bunch of dirt and grass stuck to it. He grabbed at it after clicking his tongue, tossing it into the fire to ensure no animals were to come to their site after they were done.

Lucy tuned out for the majority of the conversation as Gray began to speak. She could hear Juvia and Natsu pipe in once in a while but she was too focused on the fact that she had a moment with her summer crush. Was Natsu about to kiss her just now? Or was she just thinking ahead of herself?

There was no way that Natsu would like her out of everyone else. She was sure he had a roaster back at home, too, and for her to be hoping for a chance with this hunk made her believe she actually was delusional.

But she swore he wanted it as much as she did. The way his eyes kept flickering down at her lips and how his thumb brushed against her. How his eyes swirled with such emotions and she wondered what he was going to say before Gray rudely interrupted their moment.

She missed his warmth and she really wished she was still being held by him while his eyes were on her and her only.

The rest of the night went by in a flash and before Lucy knew it, she was yawning and the fire was sizzling. A bunch of the children had already gone back with their counselors and while Lucy rounded up her rowdy bunch, the group could only groan. But she knew how tired they were since today was sports day and seeing how some of them yawned and sleepily rubbed their eyes, she ushered them back over to their cabin to get them to brush their teeth before bed.

Following her very last one up the path to the cabin, Lucy whirled around in her spot at the sound of her name. Her heart stuttered again when she noticed who it was and she felt weak as he approached her, a bag of trash in hand.

"Lucy," he said as he came to a halt in front of her. "I forgot to give you something."

"Huh? What is it?"

She watched how Natsu turned around, as if he was looking for something or someone but they were the very last ones to leave the site. Gray and Juvia had already left, ushering up the very last group while Gajeel had just left with some trash. Natsu was the one to help him clear out the place and make sure the fires were out properly and seeing how nobody but they were around, he turned back around.

Lucy didn't know what she was expecting but it certainly was not having Natsu grab at her and crush his lips against hers. Her eyes were wide and her entire body went stiff at the action and she truly thought she was dreaming.

His lips were warm and soft against hers, his large hand cupping the back of her nape as he held her against him. Goosebumps broke out and she felt her entire body melt, a violent shiver rushing down her spine to wake her up.

He let her go after a couple of seconds and Lucy merely gawked, her entire face popping red.

Did that just really happen?

"W—w—what was t—that?!" Lucy sputtered, nearly falling over in the process of her flailing and Natsu watched her with amusement. "Why'd you k—kiss me?"

"It's your goodnight kiss." He flashed her a boyish grin and she was surprised to see the slight tint of pink that dusted his cheeks. "I wanted to kiss you earlier but Gray came and ruined the moment."

"Whaaat?" She knew she sounded stupid but she really couldn't help it.

Her summer crush wanted to kiss her as much as she did earlier that night! And he did! She did! They kissed!

"I know this is going to sound really silly but… I have a huge crush on you," he looked down at the dirt, his free hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck in a nervous tick. "I.. I wasn't planning on saying anything but with how everything went tonight and the fact that we're halfway through camp I… I didn't want to regret anything."

Lucy looked around as if she was waiting for a camera crew to come out and laugh at her. But there was nobody around but them and it was growing darker outside with the dim street lamps giving them some light.

When she looked back at Natsu, he was kicking his leg back and forth against the dirt like a little kid and her heart swelled at the sight of it.

Natsu liked her. He was crushing on her the same way she was crushing on him.

"Anyways, forget it. I said my peace and clearly you don't feel the same so I'll just—"

"No, wait!" Lucy cried out as she grabbed his t-shirt, stopping him from leaving. It surprised her as much as it surprised him as she yanked her hand back and looked at him with wide eyes. "Natsu, I, um, I have… I like you, too." She could feel her face heating up with her hairline moistening. "I don't want to regret anything either and I… I'm sorry I didn't kiss you back. I do. The kissing, I mean. I really do. I just… it surprised me and I didn't think you'd want to kiss me as much as I wanted to and it's crazy how you just did but I didn't have enough time to react so I'm sorry I didn't kiss you back. We can try again." She was babbling uncontrollably as she was so nervous. "Not now or maybe now? I don't know! We can't even be caught doing this! It's against the rules and we really shouldn't be out here doing stuff like this or else—"

"Lucy."

"Y—yeah?" She blinked up to look at him.

"You talk too damn much."

The sound of Natsu's trash bag hitting the dirt floor echoed between them and he grabbed her again, cupping the back of her neck while the other came around her waist to pull her in. His lips were hot against her own as he kissed her again and her entire body sparked with fire, hot flames licking at her skin and spreading throughout her veins. It felt like liquid lava was pumping through her body and she kissed him back with much enthusiasm.

The kiss wasn't long nor did any of them deepen it as they recognized where they were, pulling away from each other to gaze into one another's eyes. Natsu pulled his hands away from her, tucking a strain of hair behind her ear before he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from touching her.

Lucy thought she was going to pass out as she bit down on her bottom lip and looked at him in a daze, her eyes glazed over in the state of her arousal.

A smile spread across his lips and her poor heart was working overtime once again.

"I'll see you in the morning." He bent down to pick up the trash bag. "Sweet dreams, Luce."

"G—goodnight… Natsu." Her voice came out wobbly and as Natsu grinned and tossed a wink her way, she could only watch him disappear down the hill and to the cafeteria where he would dispose of the trash.

This was definitely the tipping point for her. She was one hundred percent delusional and she wouldn't be surprised if it was the heat that made her this mad.

But she would much rather be stuck in this summertime madness if that meant she could be kissing Natsu.

Oh, she was screwed.

This crush was definitely not going away anytime soon.

X

.

Fin