3 - can i make it anymore obvious?
Natsu stared at the phone number under the new contact in his phone.
"Aren't you gonna call?" A voice sounded from behind Natsu, causing the boy to jump.
"Wendy! Jesus Christ, warn a guy. How long have you been there?"
"Long enough," She shrugged, climbing on the bed to lay next to Natsu. "You should call her!"
"How can I be sure this is even her number?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe by calling?" Wendy rolled her eyes impatiently. Natsu frowned. He stared harder at his phone, his brain weighing the pros and cons of calling the number. "Maybe you should text first." Wendy suggested, noting Natsu's intense gaze which made the phone look like it would burst into flames at any moment.
"Yeah, that's smart."
Lucy sat still in a chair as her housemaid, Virgo, braided her hair.
"I have a date this weekend." She spoke, filling the silence of her bedroom.
"A date?" Virgo paused her unfinished braid. "I thought you were holding off on any relationships until after graduation."
"I know, I don't know why I said yes!" Lucy threw her hands up in frustration.
"It's never too late to cancel." Virgo continued braiding Lucy's hair.
"I'd feel so awful. He's not like the guys here, he actually has a personality. Maybe that's why I said yes so easily." Lucy kicked her feet back and forth nervously. "I think he's from the Eastside." Virgo's eyes widened and she stopped braiding once again.
"That's a dangerous area, Princess. Are you sure he's genuine? Or could he just be a decoy to hurt you? You're the heiress to Heartfilia Railways, after all."
"I doubt he wants to kidnap me. He's very sweet." As if on cue, Lucy's phone buzzed. She reached over and grabbed it off her coffee table, looking at the text notification from an unknown number.
Unknown: hey
Lucy: Who's this?
Unknown: its Natsu
Lucy: Hi! (:
"This is him, Virgo! He texted!" Lucy pointed to her phone excitedly. The maid couldn't help but to lean over Lucy's shoulder and watch the text message interaction.
Natsu: we still on for Sat.?
Lucy: Of course
Lucy: [Location sent]
Lucy: Here's my address, see you then!
Natsu flopped onto his back with a sigh of relief and clutched his phone to his chest, the widest, goofiest grin plastered across his face as if he were a madman.
"She answered?" Wendy asked with a smile.
"She answered."
Saturday took far too long to arrive for both parties. Friday felt like a week, and the hours leading up to seven were agonizing.
"Any plans tonight, Lady Lucy?" Capricorn knocked on the open door where Lucy stood in front of a mirror holding up two different outfits.
"Tonight's my date with Natsu." Lucy informed him. Capricorn, who had long forgotten, looked surprised. "Which outfit?" Lucy spun to show her chauffeur the two outfits she had been admiring in the mirror. One was a black long-sleeved v-neck paired with a denim skirt. The other was a yellow plaid coat dress. Capricorn thought back to the demeanor of the pink-haired boy who had assisted his lady in returning to the car. The clumsy, skateboarding delinquent who had collided with her the same week. The yellow outfit was obviously the better choice for the daughter of the Heartfilias, but for a date in the city with this skater boy...
"I think he'll appreciate the black outfit much more." Capricorn said. Lucy grinned.
"That's the one I was thinking," She hung the yellow dress back in her closet.
"Do you need a ride to the location?"
"No, Natsu's picking me up." Lucy answered. She didn't miss the flash of disappointment across her driver's face. "But I do need a ride home. You'll be available to pick me up around eleven, right?"
"Of course, Lady Lucy. I'll take my leave, then." Capricorn gave a small bow and left the room. Lucy flopped onto her bed and giggled with excitement once she was sure he was out of earshot.
"That's what you're wearing?" Evergreen looked at her housemate with disgust.
"What's wrong with it?" Natsu looked down at his clothing. It was no different from what he usually wore. The off-white shirt was slightly oversized, vulgar text printed in a dark red blocky font across the centre. Maroon ripped skinny jeans went well with his clean black Etnies. The brunette rolled her eyes and disappeared upstairs.
"I have to agree, Natsu. That's too inappropriate to wear on your first date."
"Not you too, Erza. This isn't even my first date!" Natsu protested. The redhead smacked him on the head.
"And you aren't going to tell her that, you dense imbecile. You'll scare her off. I don't care how punk-rock this girl is, we're dressing to impress."
"Try this," Evergreen reappeared carrying a fancy looking tux. "I stole it from this rich guy I seduced, but it should fit you fine if we pin the sleeves."
"The hell? I'm going bowling, not to a fucking wedding." Natsu shoved Evergreen and the formal wear away. The living room was littered with a few annoying people waiting to give Natsu a proper send off. Erza and Evergreen struggled to convince him to change clothes while Gray and Freed watched from nearby, snickering at the pinkette's misfortune every so often.
"At least comb that wreck on your head." Freed suggested.
"Can you guys back off? I have to pick her up by seven and it's a long trip to the other side of town."
"You're picking her up? With what exactly?" Gray raised a brow.
"The bus?"
"Oh my fucking god." The room deadpanned at Natsu's response, but no one tried to stop their resident idiot from humiliating himself.
Approaching the address he was given, Natsu started to regret taking the bus. Lucy's neighbourhood was gated, and he had to spend a solid five minutes arguing with some security guy who kept insisting his Warped Tour VIP pass from three summers ago was invalid identification. Only after he got in did he realize he wasn't in a neighborhood. The giant, solid gold Heartfilia calligraphed above that gate was a last name. Lucy had a lot more money than he thought.
The Heartfilia Estate was crazy big. The place nearly took up a whole zip code, and Natsu was shocked anyone could own this much property. It was just short of a hike to Lucy's front door at the Heartfilia Mansion, and he couldn't help but wonder how she even got home every day as he rang the bell.
"Wow, you look really good." Natsu said as Lucy opened the door.
"Thanks! You don't look too bad yourself. I love the shirt." Natsu's shirt had the words I'll See You In Hell in a bloody font. It was surprising that she liked it. The compliment threw Natsu into a spiel about his favorite band, and the two chatted amongst themselves as they took a golf cart to the main gate of the estate.
Lucy had never been on a bus in her life, and no lie, she was scared. The thing was nearly empty, no one from her side of town was interested in getting near one of these. But it was an experience, right? An adventure, something to cross off her nonexistent bucket list. She followed Natsu onto the large vehicle and watched as he swiped a card twice in a little station by the driver's seat.
The ride was much more anticlimactic than Lucy thought. It only made a few stops, and before she knew it, they were in front of the bowling alley.
Bowling was just as fun as she imagined. It wasn't as difficult as she thought, but clearly, she was a natural talent as she had somehow attracted a small crowd.
"Eight strikes in a row?!"
"She's gonna beat Sieg's record!"
"Gotta be a pro…"
Eventually the pair got tired of bowling, and the crowds diverged. Finding a somewhat clean table, they sat down to eat.
Lucy stared at her date in amusement as he rattled off half the menu options to a deflated employee. Big eater, huh?
"You're gonna put Serena out of business if you keep eating like this, Dragneel," The server shook his head as Natsu grinned. "And for you?" He looked towards Lucy.
"Just the house salad for me. Dressing on the side." The server nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Whaddya want to drink?" Natsu stood up, grabbing both cups to take to the soda machine.
"Strawberry iced tea?" Lucy asked, unsure if it was even an option. Her suspicions were mostly confirmed by a tilt of Natsu's head. "Ah, water then." The boy smiled and nodded, heading over to the machine. "You come here a lot?" Lucy asked when Natsu returned.
"Oh, yeah. Gotta be one of my favourite places. I pretty much grew up tearing up these lanes." Natsu delivered an invisible strike, causing Lucy to laugh.
"Do you still live around here?" Lucy asked. The question struck Natsu hard. Should he tell her? Could he tell her?
Magnolia was divided into two sides. You had the Eastside, and the Westside. The Eastside was lower income. In fact, below lower income. Homelessness was a serious issue, the crime rate was insane, and the residents were notorious for their violent and dangerous nature. It bordered with Hargeon, a small harbor town with avid fishermen and a direct link to Bosco, one of- if not the most dangerous town in Fiore.
The Westside, however, was the complete opposite. The residents were happy and spoiled rotten, never having to worry about money for even a moment. Houses had lavish balconies and views of the mountains; schools were the equivalent of shopping malls with hourly classes. The Westside bordered Crocus, the country's capital. People who were lucky enough to find work and succeed in the capital tended to buy luxurious mansions in the nice edges of Magnolia, which is exactly what Lucy's family had done four generations ago.
The only thing separating these worlds was a narrow river and a drawbridge, yet the gap seemed so much farther.
"Yeah," Natsu answered. He figured if she had a problem with it, she wasn't the right girl. There was no reason to pretend to be someone he wasn't. "I live just North of here, right by the tracks." Lucy flashed a reassuring smile.
"It seems very homey over here." The server from earlier returned with some trays, setting one down in front of Lucy and two in front of Natsu.
"Thanks, Ajeel!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"How can you eat so much?" Lucy giggled, watching as Natsu began to scarf down food.
"Big appetite, plus Ajeel's gotta be one of the best cooks I know. Could eat just here forever! You're really gonna eat just a salad?"
"Mhm," Lucy confirmed behind a forkful of lettuce. "I'm a ballerina, so gotta be careful with what I eat. Especially at restaurants."
Natsu and Lucy talked for hours into the night after finishing their meals. All types of topics came up, from favourite movies to places they dreamed of travelling. They matched each other's energy, and both felt like something missing in their lives had finally been found.
The two had completely different tastes. Lucy would stare dreamily as Natsu hyped up his favourite horror films, despite Lucy being extremely jumpy and hating anything scary. And Natsu would grin as Lucy spoke of her favourite tropes in books, mostly being romantic clichés. They balanced each other out, and it was beautiful.
Natsu and Lucy walked side by side out of God Serena's. They stood close together in a cute, awkward way, both teens too afraid to make the first move. As they strolled down the sidewalk, Lucy decided to speak first.
"This was really fun, Natsu. I'm glad you invited me."
"Yeah! We should do this again sometime."
Lucy grinned. She took a deep breath and mustered up all her courage to ask the question she'd been thinking all day.
"Natsu," Said boy let out a 'hmm?', turning towards the blonde with a curious expression. "Would you want to go on a second date? My cousin, Michelle, is celebrating her twentieth birthday with a brunch party next weekend, and I would love it if you would go with me."
Natsu stood dumbfounded, trying to determine whether he was dreaming. "Dude, yeah! I would love to go! Wait, what's the dress code for this? I don't have fancy clothes or anything."
"Fall event formal! You could wear a black silk tie with a French cuff shirt, preferably ecru so it'll match my dress. Gold cuff links of your preference..." It didn't take Lucy long to notice Natsu didn't understand a word she was saying. She sighed with a smile. "Are you free… Tuesday afternoon?"
Natsu nodded. Finally, a language he spoke. "Yeah, I get out of school at 1:50."
"Do you have a car?"
"Uh, I have a truck."
"Perfect. My school dismisses at 2:45, so you can pick me up at the South entrance and I'll take you shopping. How does that sound?"
"Perfect." Natsu swooped down and grabbed Lucy's hands, intertwining his calloused fingers with her soft, perfectly manicured ones. "I had a really good time today."
"Me too! I can't wait to spend more time with you, Natsu." Lucy squeezed his hands affectionately, a little sign of thanks. The two stared into each other's eyes, neither willing to break the moment. A black car pulled up by the sidewalk where Natsu and Lucy stood, signaling the end of their moment. Lucy sighed as she realized it was her ride.
"So... I'll see you Tuesday?" Natsu confirmed, gently pulling his hands away.
"Yep! Don't be late! I'll text you the address that morning." Lucy trotted towards her car, hopping in, and rolling down the window. "Goodnight, Natsu."
"Night, Luce." Natsu gave one last grin to the girl as the car window rolled up and she disappeared into the roads ahead. Natsu watched the traffic speed by for a few minutes before grabbing the board from his backpack and heading home.
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A/N
LMAOOOO someone really asked if I was gonna take another 3 years to update I'm crying /yes