2 - she was a girl
The following days, Natsu couldn't stop himself from skating through that expensive part of town.
He received plenty of dirty looks from overdressed passers-by who judged the rattling of the loose wheels on his board or the vexatious clangor of the chains hanging from his belt. Natsu paid them no mind. All he wanted was to see that girl one more time. What was her name?
As Natsu glided by various exorbitant shoppes and restaurants, he thought about what his life would look like if he was never adopted by Makarov. Could he have been one of these arrogant assholes sticking their nose up at anyone wearing an outfit worth less than his entire life savings? Or would life be no different? Just another blurred face among the crowd?
His fantasies faded when the sound of a bell ringing and a soft "thank you" from a familiar voice filled his ears. Natsu let his foot drift on the ground until he slowed to a stop. He stared at the girl leaving the shop only some feet in front of him. There she was.
She was more gorgeous than he remembered. She sported a plaid patterned light blue tube top and a tight matching skirt; a huge contrast to the flowy white sundress he last saw her in.
"Hey!" He called, catching the attention of not only the beautiful blonde but many nearby socialites. She looked up at him and smiled. He kicked up his skateboard and stuffed it in his open backpack, using his other hand to wave the girl over.
"Oh, hi! I remember you! Natsu, right?" She trotted over to him, arms full of bags and boxes with logos that were worth more than his entire wardrobe.
"Yeah. Sorry again. About the, uh, skateboard thing."
"No need to apologise. I should've been more careful standing in the middle of a busy walkway like that." The pair stood parallel to each other in an awkward silence. The blonde twisted her hair mindlessly while Natsu averted his gaze and rocked back and forth anxiously.
"Do you wanna maybe... go out sometime... somewhere...?" Natsu finally built up the courage to ask her the question that had been on his mind since he saw her in the doorway. Her reaction was just what he thought it would be. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. He was sure her heart skipped a beat in there too. He thought about skating off never to return to this part of town but decided to let her answer.
"Like, a date?" Natsu looked the other direction and nodded shyly. She smiled. "I would love to! Where would we go?" Natsu nearly choked. He couldn't tell if she was serious. The smile on her face looked genuine enough.
"Have you ever been to God Serena's?" Natsu asked. She shook her head. "It's a bowling alley. They've got like… bowling and food and stuff."
"I've always wanted to go bowling! My parents never let me. My friend Sting once went for his friend's birthday and said it was super fun."
"Yeah, it can be! Here, put your number in my phone. Text me an address and I'll pick you up Saturday around seven?" Natsu opened the contacts app on his cracked old iPhone and handed it to the girl. She didn't even acknowledge the barely readable screen as she quickly typed in her name and number.
Natsu felt like he was dreaming when she handed his phone back to him. This has to be a fake number because there's no way a girl this hot is just going out with someone like me that fast. Before he could question the debutant on the validity of her phone number, he noticed how she was struggling to hold up the mountain of merchandise in her arms.
"Hey, do you need some help?"
"Huh?"
"With the bags. That stuff looks heavy."
"Oh, yes please!" She set everything on the sidewalk next to her and handed him three boxes and two bags, leaving her with two bags. Natsu was a little surprised. Usually people of her status turn down assistance in fear that they'll get robbed, but this girl was completely trusting of him. "My driver is parked a couple blocks down. I was really thinking about how on Earth I was going to get all these back to the car!" Natsu took note of the blonde's chattiness. He couldn't help but let out a laugh as she went on and on about ten different topics in the span of a minute. "What?"
"Sorry, I'm just really surprised you have so much to talk about." She smiled.
"There's a lot more to me than just a pretty face." She said with a wink. The two carried on their conversation like lifelong friends. Laughing and joking around, the ten-minute walk to the parking garage felt like two. Natsu Dragneel was head over heels for this girl whose name he'd forgotten (I really need to check on that once I've got a free hand.) and was dead set on finding out if she maybe felt the same.
"Well, this is me." They reached the car far too soon for either party's taste. It was a Rolls Royce, a car brand Natsu swore up and down only existed in movies about modern royalty. They stood contently next to each other as Capricorn popped the trunk and got out to help with the bags. "Oh, Capricorn! This is Natsu!" The butler looked Natsu up and down and greeted him with a nod.
"Hello, Natsu. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure's all mine... sir?"
"Capricorn is fine." The blonde cut in, smiling at Natsu. "We are going on a date this Saturday." Lucy was so direct Natsu had to hold back a reaction.
"Is that so? I'm sure your father will be ecstatic to hear that." Capricorn said as he took the final box from Natsu's arms and loaded it into the trunk. He dusted his vest and turned back to the boy. "Once again, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for assisting my lady." Capricorn had already returned to the driver's seat before Natsu could accept his thanks. The blonde gave Natsu one last grin before hopping in the back seat.
As the car reversed out of the spot, she rolled her window down.
"Thanks again!"
"Not a problem. I'll call you!"
"I'll be waiting!" She waved as the car sped out of the parking garage, leaving the crushing teen standing alone in an empty spot. He grabbed the board sticking out of his bag and hopped on, cruising his way back home before it got too dark.
On the way back to his side of the city he dipped his hand in the front pocket of his tattered jeans and fished out his phone. Quickly typing in the passcode, he went straight to the contacts app. It was already opened to the most recently viewed contact, which was obviously none other than the girl of his dreams who he was taking bowling in less than fifty hours; quite an accomplishment if you asked him. And we he saw that name in bold letters at the top of his shattered screen, he knew he would never forget it.
Lucy.
Can y'all believe it took me three years to update this?