~Lucy's POV~

I thought of going to Natsu's house for the rest of the day. No matter how hard I tried to dismiss the subject, my mind always brought it back up.

My head was swirling with questions. Will his parents like me? Do I look okay? What will we do?

I'm probably just freaking out; I seem to do that a lot. Natsu's hand waving in front of my face snapped me out of my daze.

"Earth to Lucy. Did you lose a few screws in there?" He asked as he flicked my forehead.

I gasped and clenched my forehead.
"Ow!" I yelled as I rubbed my stinging skin. "Did you really have to do that?" I snarled as I sent him an angered look.

"What was keeping you so distracted Lucy?" Natsu smirked and leaned closer towards me. I could start to feel my cheeks heat up.

"Nothing!" I exclaimed proudly as I crossed my arms. His eyes were calm, they seemed soft.

"Then why are you blushing?" I instantly covered my cheeks and turned away from him. I heard him chuckle and take his keys out of his pockets.

"N-none of your business," I was extremely embarrassed. Natsu basically caught me in the act of thinking about him. I acted all confident, but Natsu saw right through me.

"Come on, let's go Blondie." Natsu slightly ruffled my hair and walked towards the door. I pouted and flattened down my hair. He just smirked at my childish reaction.

I pushed myself up from the desk and ran to catch up with him. The halls were empty, with the exception of a few stragglers.

As we turned the corner leading to the front door, I swore I saw a white haired girl staring at me. Her image instantly disappeared. I shook my head to shake away the illusion. I was just so nervous that I began to imagine things.

We left the school and headed towards the parking lot. When we approached his bike, he plopped his helmet on my head.

I was a little shocked from his action, but I went along with it. I buckled the helmet and hopped on the bike.

Natsu jammed his key into the ignition, and the bike came to life. I was hesitant to touching Natsu. I didn't want him to be uncomfortable.

"Hold on Lucy," he said as he guided my hands around his back. His leather jacket felt so cold. How much warmth do they actually bring?

I peered over Natsu's shoulder to see his reaction. I have been a pretty curious person since I was little. I was always getting into bad situations because of my curiosity.

As if Natsu had sensed my nervousness, he turned his head to look at me. I was already pretty close to his shoulder, so his face came directly towards mine.

Our noses touched.

We both stared wide eyed at the other. I knew I was blushing like a mad man. I  even saw a hint of pink appear on Natsu's cheek. Sweat was beginning to form at my temples.

The weird part about this experience is that neither of us moved. His eyes showed a mixture of emotions. I saw the shocked, dilated pupils, but I also saw sadness. I didn't have the time to investigate.

We stayed extremely close to each other, until he backed away slightly.

"U-uh sorry, I was just-" I was interrupted by the bike kicking into motion. Natsu sped off at a fast pace, making me cling on to him.

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The cool autumn breeze lowered my temperature. Natsu's apartment complex was only about a five minute walk from my house. I never realized how close we were to each other.

We entered the apartment complex and stopped at the concierge's desk.

"Natsu, my man!" A mysterious voice appeared behind the desk. Natsu smiled and fist bumped the guy.

"Sup Gildarts," he replied happily.

"You know, work as usual." Gildarts said as he took notice to my presence.  "WOAH," he exclaimed loudly. His eyes trailed up and down my body. I took a small step behind Natsu.

I did not appreciate his pervish behavior. I cringed in response.

"Is this a new girlfriend Natsu? Good choice." The word girlfriend made me flinch. How many girlfriends had Natsu had?

"Goodbye Gildarts," Natsu mumbled quietly. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the elevator. Gildarts starting laughing and waving at us.

As the metal door closed, Natsu let out a huge sigh. He leaned against the brown elevator wall, and rolled his eyes.

"Ignore him please," he said he pushed floor 18. I hardly had anytime to process what just happened.

"Uh-sure." I replied bluntly. It seemed like Gildarts and Natsu were really close friends. He mentioned Natsu bringing in another "new girlfriend." 

Was Natsu really the sweet guy that I knew? My thoughts were interrupted by the heavy doors sliding open. Natsu motioned for me to go first, so I did. He followed and pulled a rusted house key from his back pocket.

He slid the key into Apartment 18A's door. I looked down the hall and noticed that there were only two apartments per floor. He opened the lavish door and I peered inside. His apartment was amazing. Glass lined the wall peering out towards the city. He had spotless white carpet lining the floor. A slick grey couch was set in the middle of the room, along with a huge flat screen TV. Exquisite plants decorated every corner. The kitchen was also attached to the living room, and contained a huge island in the center. 

My mouth fell agape as I stared at how modern the place was. 

"Wow, it's beautiful." It was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. I tightened my grip on my backpack, nervous to move. Everything just looked so expensive. 

"Thanks," Natsu said as he walked past me. He threw his stuff onto the grey couch sloppily. I swiftly took off my shoes and placed them by the door. I also set my backpack down. I slowly walked over towards Natsu. He was sprawled out on the couch, his head facing towards me. 

"Are your parents at work or something?" I said as I sat at the end of the couch. I held my hands in my lap. Natsu calm expression turned cold. He turned his head so he wasn't facing me. I had obviously sparked a topic that didn't want to be revealed.

"Y-you don't have to answer if you don't want to," I said anxiously. I instantly stared down at the ground with embarrassment. He shifted his body to face towards me again. 

"I don't have any parents," Natsu said timidly. The causality of his voice startled me. His expression didn't reveal him to be upset. After losing my mother, I learned to admit her death comfortably as well.

"I know what you mean, I'm sorry." I leaned back against the couch, relaxing a little bit. 

"Who did you lose?" Natsu mumbled quietly. I looked at him, but he didn't return my gaze.

"My mom, a few months ago." I solemnly said as I threw one of my arms on my head. I rubbed my forehead lightly, trying to get rid of the headache that was beginning to form. Natsu nodded and picked himself up from the couch. 

"Should we start working on the scrapbooks?" He asked, changing the subject. I let out a sigh and stood up with him. 

"Sure!" I said, showing him a fake smile. I ran over to my back pack and grabbed a blank book. I gave myself a second to refresh my mind. I closed my eyes and breathed heavily.

"Lucy, it's okay to be sad," Natsu said springing up behind me. I was touched by his worried reaction. I stared into his onyx eyes, they still showed sadness. 

"Natsu, it's okay to be sad," I said as I moved closer to him. His eyes looked shocked by my words. I showed a grateful smile and embraced him. 

"I'm sorry, you just looked like you needed a hug." I mumbled through his shirt. He smelled like fresh linens with a hint of mint. I had wrapped my arms around his back, but Natsu remained motionless. I'm guessing that he was stunned from my abrupt action. 

I suddenly felt his arms wrap around me as well. He was warm; he made me feel safe. Everything felt so right. Nothing was awkward, I wasn't even blushing. 

"Thanks Luce," Natsu said quietly. Luce? I smiled at the way he spoke my name. I thought that it was cute, I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. 

I wished we could stay like this forever.