Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lucy groaned and slowly submerged herself into the real world, her dream whisking away into a spiral of colors and distorted shapes. She cracked her eyes open, sleep making her lids feel like they weighed a hundred pounds, and looked around the room in confusion. It took her a moment to recognize her surroundings, but it came as no shock to her when her eyes scanned over the space of her new living area.

She turned onto her side, eye catching the picture of her mother, and reached around her covers blindly. When her hand finally landed on the cool black square of her phone she wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it up close to her face. Her eyes still blurry with sleep had to squint at the dimmed screen to make out the time. She groaned when she realized there was no mistake, that six o'clock had come bright and early as it did every morning. She was just never awake to see it.

"Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to start school at 7?" she grumbled angrily, pulling childishly on her blankets. She shivered at the thought of traipsing through the cold house and rubbed her hands sadly against her bare legs. She'd decided to go to bed in only a tank and shorts since it has been so hot. Last night had been much fun; she'd spent the time drinking away with the merry people of Fairy Tail, but now she regretted drinking so many glasses. Not of wine or beer, of course, but of grape juice. The same that Mira said was given to the drunkard of Fairy Tail, Cana Albarn, during the day. Lucy smiled to herself, feeling a sense of pride that she could put a name to the face. She still remembered many people from Fairy Tail; none looked anything like the other and each had their own individual and unique personality.

"Lucy?" A deep voice asked outside her door, followed closely by a delayed knock. Lucy recognized her cousin's voice and sighed tiredly, knowing that any fantasies of spending the day in bed were henceforth destroyed.

"I'm up," she called back after a moment, raising herself up onto her elbows. She heard Laxus's chuckles and realized that her sad tone must've been more obvious than she'd thought.

"Breakfast is downstairs," he called back before his footsteps echoed down the hallway. Lucy waited until she heard the creek of the stairs before collapsing face-first into her pillow. She groaned, the sound muffled by the fabric, and began to mentally prepare herself for the longest day of her life.

The early morning air wasn't as chilly as Lucy had thought it would be, but there was a certain brisk to it that had her moving quickly down the hallway to the shower. Thankfully the warm water seemed to wash away her morning blues and she exited the bathroom ten minutes later feeling much better. Her new school uniform was rather cute as well, which helped a lot. She hadn't thought the red skirt and tan vest would compliment her well, but one glance in the mirror changed her mind. Red, apparently, was her color.

Lucy skipped down the stairs and padded into the dining room. She paused when she spotted the small feast laid out upon the table. Her cousin looked up from his own meal as she entered, giving her a wary look. He seemed relieved when he spotted her clean, fresh attire. Lucy gave him a look back before tenderly moving towards the table. Her eyes caught the sight of golden pancakes, browned sausages, and bright scrambled eggs. Her stomach growled hungrily.

"Did you rob the breakfast aisle?" She asked in amazement, relishing in the fact that she would not be forced to endure a breakfast of Mexican leftovers or slices of cheese.

"Nope," Laxus said calmly. "I robbed Fairy Tail."

"What?!" Lucy yelped, pulling her hand back quickly from the sausage she'd been reaching towards.

"Relax," Laxus chuckled, noticing her panicked expression. "This is all the leftovers."

"Leftovers? This is a feast," Lucy gaped, eyeing the fully covered length of their table.

"Fairy Tail has the appetite of starving men," Laxus told her before taking a sip of his cup. He paused with the lip to his chin, glancing at her with bright blue eyes. "Don't ever forget that."

"R-right," Lucy swallowed, her stomach tightening at his seriousness. Laxus stared at her for another second before letting out a breathy sigh. Lucy realized after a moment that he was laughing.

"Relax, would you? I'm only joking," he sighed, setting the cup down and giving her a half smile. Lucy frowned and took a seat.

"You're an awfully serious joker, aren't you?" She huffed, stabbing her fork into a sausage. The juice splashed out onto her hand, burning her. She dropped it with a hiss.

"Careful there. Food from Fairy Tail likes to fight back," Laxus smirked while watching his cousin fan her hand wildly. She gave him an unamused look over her shoulder and gently prodded her hand. She ignored the older blonde's eye roll and gingerly picked up the fork again. Carefully she picked the sausage up and set it on her plate. Laxus sighed again but turned away to his own meal.

For a while the two blondes sat in silence, immersing themselves in their food. It wasn't an uncomfortable or tense silence, like it usually was, so Lucy took the time to enjoy it. She finished well before her cousin and decided that instead of leaving she would stay with him. The clock said that they had a half an hour before school so there was still time.

The first few minutes Lucy picked absently at her leftover crumbs, tearing them into even tinier bits and pieces. After that bored her, she decided to look up and watch her cousin.

Lucy observed Laxus quietly as he ate. She was still surprised to notice the differences when she looked at him. She was so used to seeing the picture of the small scrawny kid from all those years ago that this new, older version was slightly unsettling. The softness of his face had given way to a strong jaw line and the dreamy expression she remembered seeing constantly on his face was replaced by a serious, stony look. His eyes were hard and unyielding, even as he sat down and simply ate breakfast. Lucy realized that her cousin seemed to have a perpetual look of anger on his face. Matched with the scar he had gained, he looked downright terrifying. She wondered why she hadn't realized it before.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Lucy had gotten the chance to see other sides of him. She knew the child version she remembered was still buried somewhere deep, deep, deep within him. She had also seen the gentle and kind side of him when he talked about Fairy Tail or Mira. He almost seemed to lose himself when he began to gaze at the white haired beauty. It didn't take a genius to know that Laxus Dreyar was utterly and hopelessly in love Mirajane Strauss.

"Do I have something on my face?" Laxus's voice broke through her reverie, making her jump in shock. She blinked quickly, jerking back into reality, and refocused on her Cousin's face. He had looked up from his plate and saw her gazing at him. She blushed in embarrassment of being caught.

"N-no," Lucy stammered, looking down at her plate in order to escape the piercing gaze of her cousin's eyes. Laxus blinked in surprise, noticing her flushed cheeks, and sighed gently. He pushed away from the table with a slight squeak, causing the girl to look up curiously.

"Come on," he said, picking up his plate and heading towards the kitchen. "If we don't hurry we'll be late."

"Y-yeah," Lucy mumbled, following suit and picking up her own dirty dishes. She headed into the kitchen and set the plate in the sink. She followed her cousin's broad back as they made their way to the front hall. Lucy paused when he began to pull on his shoes. "Um, what about the rest of the food?"

"Hm?" Laxus hummed, glancing at the table. A good portion was still left, despite the fact that Laxus had about four servings just himself. "Don't worry about it. Gramps will finish it or just send the leftovers to Natsu."

"Heh," Lucy huffed, remembering the pinkette's unearthly appetite. She shook her head and pulled on her own sneakers.

"Here, this should have everything you need in it," Laxus said, holding out a light pink backpack to her. Lucy gazed at it curiously, gently taking it into her hands. She gaped at the weight of it, stumbling forward slightly. Laxus reached out and steadied her.

"What the hell is in this thing?" Lucy grunted, gently placing it on the floor. She bent down and unzipped it, scanning through the items.

"Folders, books, pencils, all that stuff," Laxus listed, glancing disdainfully at the bag. "You won't need half of it, but Mira insisted."

"Mira?" Lucy asked uncertainly, closing the bag again.

"Don't be too surprised. Mira's like a little mother," he warned her.

"How cute," Lucy sighed, her chest squeezing pleasurably.

"Humph," Laxus said, but she caught the small smile on his face as he turned away. "Hurry up. She won't be happy if you're late."

"Right!" Lucy agreed. She stood up and grabbed the straps, tugging the bag into the air. Her muscles strained against the incredible weight and she grunted as she lifted it up inch by inch.

The weight suddenly disappeared as the bag was taken from her grip. Lucy stumbled at the sudden unbalance and looked to see Laxus toss the bag over his shoulder as if it was nothing more than a few pounds. Lucy gaped.

"We're not going to get anywhere if you can't even lift the thing up," her cousin explained, noticing her astonished look. Lucy paused a minute before giving him a bright smile.

"Thanks Lax!" She said cheerfully. Laxus stared at her for a moment before huffing and turning away. Lucy smiled and followed him out to his little car. She slid into the passenger seat and Laxus deposited the bags in the back before slipping into the drivers chamber. The car grumbled to life beneath them and he carefully made his way out of the driveway.

That was another thing she'd learned about her cousin; he was very careful.

"So how many kids are in the school?" Lucy asked after a moment of silence. Laxus hummed, thinking, and shrugged.

"Probably a few hundred with Freshman through Seniors," he estimated, shrugging again.

"How many are from Fairy Tail?"

"Not that many," he told her and then paused. "I know that you want Natsu to start training you to fight."

Lucy went still, silently cursing in her mind. The reproachful tone in her cousins voice was all the proof she needed. He didn't approve.

"I don't like it," he confirmed, "but I think it's a good idea."

"Huh?" Lucy gasped, turning sharply towards the blonde. The car rolled to a stop at a red light but he kept his gaze straight ahead like he was afraid to look at her.

"Don't misunderstand; Natsu is a tough fighter. He's ruthless. He won't go easy on you or treat you different just 'cause your a girl," he risked a glance at her before the light turned green and he had to move forward. "And under any other circumstance I wouldn't let him be within miles of you."

"What circumstances?" Lucy asked curiously. Laxus paused again, biting his lip. Lucy could tell he was regretting mentioning any of this to her, but he was in too deep now. She wouldn't let him walk away from this and he seemed to know it because he gave of sigh of relent.

"I'm sure Mira told you about some of our, um, rivals, right?" Laxus asked. Lucy hummed her confirmation. "Humph, of course. Well, in this city, pretty much all the bars are rivals, but there are a few who choose to show their discontent physically. There have been numerous accounts where a person from another bar has started a fight, and even more so where our members have beaten some of the others up. Tension builds; the bar masters get angry."

"Wouldn't you be if it was your children being attacked?" Lucy questioned.

"I would; I am angry. Every time one of those bastards opens their mouths it leads to destruction. Recently it's calmed down, but you know the saying: calm before the storm. I'm worried. Everyone's on their wits end and Gramps is sure somethings gonna happen. Something big," he sighed, his dark tone lightening as he turned to look at her. "As the next owner of Fairy Tail I have to be prepared to take the roll of leader. Mira probably told you about my work in Gramps office. I'm preparing myself if the case arises. I wish I could, but I don't have the time to train you. There are multiple others who could, but Natsu is the best and most determined. Besides," he paused again, scratching his head. "The bastard himself came up to me and asked for my permission to train you. Like he was trying to marry you or something."

"Wha?" Lucy blushed at the implications. "Did he actually ask you?"

"Came by this morning," he confirmed. "I'm gonna tell you something about Natsu; call it a warning. He's a crazy son of a bitch who's always looking for a fight, but he's a good, determined guy. If he finds something worthy of his care then you can be sure as hell that he'll protect it with his life. Fairy Tail is one of those things, his nakama as well."

Laxus paused as they pulled into a parking spot. Lucy blinked in surprise, spotting the school building that Mira had shown her just a day ago. "Whatever you said to him was clearly enough," Laxus continued, turning the car off. He popped open his door and stopped. "He considers you of very high priority."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucy questioned.

"It means that no matter what kind of trouble you get yourself in-physical, emotional, situational-he'll be there to protect you. That's the only reason I'm letting him train you." Laxus gave her one last look before standing up and shutting the door behind him. Lucy blinked in surprise and frowned. After a moment she shook her head and stepped out of the car, following after her cousin as he began making his way into the school.

The front of the school was practically deserted when they had pulled up, but it seemed that a hundred people had magically appeared in the brief moments she hadn't been paying attention. Lucy had to duck and weave, dodging people and backpacks left and right while struggling to keep sight of Laxus's bright yellow hair.

"Ah, sorry," Lucy apologized, gasping in shock as her chest collided with something hard. She looked up, expecting to find a backpack even larger than her own as the cause of her delay, but gaping when she found a boy looking down at her instead.

"Huh?" He asked, dark blue eyes moving down to look at her clearly. The boy was tall, almost as tall as her cousin, with a similar shade of blonde hair. He was young looking though, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he was a freshman.

"I'm sorry, I accidentally bumped into you," Lucy repeated, bowing her head slightly. The boy blinked slowly before his face split into a large, sparkling smile.

"Not a problem, Blondie," he said kindly, his voice deep. Lucy flinched at the nickname but forced herself to smile back regardless. His eyes widened and his smile seemed to grow a little larger. "You aren't new, are you? I mean, I haven't seen you around here before."

"No. I mean, yes, I'm new," she stammered, chuckling and feeling her cheeks heat up embarrassedly. She would have to be lying if she said she didn't think this new stranger was attractive, and his smile didn't bring down too many points, but something about him sent her nerves on end. She couldn't tell if it was a good or bad feeling.

"Well then I'm really glad I ran into you," he said cheerfully while Lucy smiled confusedly. He extended a hand out to her and smiled. "My name is Sting. Sting Eucliffe, junior class A-3. You are?"

Lucy moved forward to grab his hand but was stopped by someone grabbing her shoulder and yanking her backwards. Her breath hitched in surprise, but she didn't go far before she landed against something hard. This time she knew it was a person, and knew who it was without even needing to look. I mean, who else would have the strange scent of firewood and cinnamon?

"Natsu?" she asked, tilting her head to get a look at the pinkette's face. She half expected him to be smiling down at her with that goof expression but was shocked when he was doing anything but. She gulped nervously and tried to move away, but his hands stayed tightly wrapped against her arms, pinning her in place. It was a gentle grip, but with the waves of anger rolling off his body it did nothing to ease her.

"Ah, Dragneel," Sting exclaimed, his smile turning thinner and more contemptuous. Lucy turned back around to see him sigh out a harsh laugh. "I guess it was too much to hope that the last fight did you in, huh?"

"Your little lacky didn't even scratch me," Natsu returned. His voice might've sounded calm and normal to any other person who heard it, but Lucy could hear the stress and unspoken threats behind every syllable. She stiffened as Natsu began to move forward, afraid he was going to follow through and attack the blonde boy. He didn't though. Instead he gently moved her to the side and positioned it so his body covered her from Sting. The blonde boy noticed this subtle action and his smirk seemed to grown even wider. Lucy was reminded of a cat.

"As expected of the great Salamander." Lucy felt Natsu stiffen at the nickname, but he remained still. Sting chuckled and glanced over towards the partially hidden blonde. "And what about her? A new member, or just some play thing?"

Lucy blinked and gaped when it finally set in. She cringed back from his peering eyes but kept her gaze defiantly on his. So this was what a member of an opposing bar looked like? And from the looks of things, he must've been a member of the more physical bars that Laxus was telling her about. How convenient that she met him and was in the same class as him. She frowned at the thought.

"Why does it matter to you, she's nothing to you," Natsu said quickly, but something in his tone must've given him away because Sting's eyes narrowed and his expression became one of victory. He looked exactly like those animals on TV, just when they are about to close in on the kill.

"So she's yours. I didn't think you were into that, but I guess even a tough guy like you melts for a pretty face once in a while, am I right?" Sting chuckled haughtily while Natsu became even stiffer. Lucy glanced up at his face and saw that his expression was now revealing all the anger he was truly feeling. Sting noticed this as well, but instead of taking warning and backing up he decided to poke the bear even more. "I guess that means she's pretty good in bed, huh. If you haven't gotten rid of her yet." He turned his leer onto Lucy, his smirk darkening. "Mind giving her to me for a little run? I'd love to see how she keeps up with you."

"You bastard!" Natsu yelled, and before Lucy could even blink he was on top of the blonde. Sting grunted as Natsu's full force fell into him and they tumbled onto the hard concrete in a bundle of flailing limbs and grunts. People instantly moved to make room for the squabbling boys, and Lucy was left standing alone. She gaped at the boys fighting before glancing around at the others. Nobody spared a glance at the two and just continued along with daily life, carefully avoiding the fight. Lucy frowned, wondering how often things like this must've happened for everyone to become so accustomed to it.

"Ugh! Why so upset, Salamander? Don't tell me you really care about that slut?" Sting prompted, adding fuel to the fire that was Natsu Dragneel. It was more like lighting a firework around barrels of gunpowder, the way Natsu's expression changed. Her cousin's warning suddenly became very clear to her. Natsu was a good person; he fought for just and proper reasons, but he was terrifying. It was very obvious that he had been holding back before, and it seemed that he was near the point of just completely letting go.

"Wait!" Lucy yelled as Natsu pulled his arm back. He didn't hear her or didn't care as he let his arm fly towards Sting's face. The blonde also seemed to realize his mistake, as pure fear shone on his face just as the fist he had provoked flew towards his face. Lucy shut her eyes as they impacted.

"Didn't I tell you that if you started another fight that there would be punishment," Laxus asked, standing in front of Natsu with his arms crossed. The pinkette flinched at the serious look on the blondes face and yelped when something cold pressed against his arm.

"Oww!" He whined childishly, even though it didn't hurt that much, and glanced at the blonde besides him. She was dutifully working away at cleaning his injuries and wrapping him up, despite his protests. His hand felt like a mummy and the smell of antiseptic hurt his nose, but he dared not to say anything that would cause her to yell at him. She had yet to do such a thing, but he could feel it coming like an approaching storm. It would be a large storm at that.

"Lucy, you don't have to bandage this fool up," Gray said lazily from his place on the wall. Natsu was still pissed that the black haired idiot was seeing him In such a position, but fighting was off limits. Even a simple insult from his mouth was met by the iron hot gazes of the twin-looking cousins. Gray had free reign though, and he was taking full advantage of it. "After all, he's the dumbass who attacked a member of Sabertooth."

"I won, stupid." Natsu fought back, cringing as Lucy tightened the bandage around his arm. "Ow, Luce! That hurts."

"The bandage was loose," she said half heartedly, tying it off and closing up her kit with a sigh. Natsu was surprised; the blonde seemed more upset about the wounds on his body than the fact that he'd started a fight. In fact, even though she'd made numerous jabs at his injuries, she had yet to say a single condescending thing about his battle. That didn't go for her cousin however.

"No fighting for two, no, three weeks and you'll be doing dish duty for the same amount of time," Laxus said sternly. Natsu didn't really mind the thought of cleaning dishes, even if fairy tail ate and were about as clean as wild animals, but the thought of not being able to fight drove him nuts.

"Come on Laxus! I already told you that I was trying to protect Luce!" He fought angrily, gripping the edge of the desk tightly. He saw Lucy stiffen from the corner of his eyes, but she quickly began sorting through the medical supplies as a distraction.

"Protect her from what? A conversation?" Laxus countered, shaking his head. Natsu could see the stress of trying to maintain balance riding on the blondes shoulders, but he couldn't help it. Something had just clicked in his mind. As soon as he saw the blonde bastard talking to Lucy with that leecherous grin on his face his common sense seemed to fly out the window. Looking back he knew it was a horrible choice to confront Sabertooth's second-in-command, let alone attack him, but he would've done it over again without hesitation. Simply seeing the two blondes in the same space sent fireworks of anger through his body, and the thought of the bastard touching her made him see red.

"A conversation? You really think he was there to have a nice chat about the weather?" Natsu was frustrated. Why couldn't Laxus see the reason in this. Why wasn't he as worried for Lucy's sake as Natsu was? Why wasn't he freaking out and itching for a chance to pummel the bastard himself?

"Not everyone is out to cause trouble, Natsu," Laxus said tiredly, his face tense.

"Do you truly believe that someone from Sabertooth wasn't there to start something? What would you say if I wasn't there and that bastard hurt Lucy?" Natsu yelled.

Everyone went silent. Laxus's eyes widened before he shook his head slowly. Natsu could see him fighting with himself and realized that the blonde was mad about what had happened, he was just more mature about it.

"Laxus is right," Lucy said finally. Natsu looked up at her sharply, the feeling of his only ally betraying him like a stab in the chest. She cringed as if realizing this fact and shook her head. "There was no proof that Sting had any intention of starting something. He said some nasty things, but if you get angry and jump him every time he says something than you're no better than him." Lucy stared at Natsu evenly, her dark brown eyes unwavering, before turning to her cousin. "And I agree with your punishment, but I have a few revisions. Natsu is not allowed to fight for three weeks," she ignored his sound of protest by raising her hand, "however during that time he is free to teach me how to fight."

Natsu's mouth, which had been open and ready to protest, snapped shut in surprise. Even Gray, who'd been preparing to insult the pinkette again, fell silent and stared at the girl blankly. Laxus was the only one who didn't seemed shocked. He sighed and ran a hand down his face, suddenly looking much older.

"You want him to teach you even after seeing that?" Laxus jerked his finger towards Natsu and the boy shrunk back with a frown. Lucy didn't seem affected though.

"While I agree with you on the fact that it was wrong of Natsu to start a fight, I believe his actions were just," everyone gaped at her and Lucy straightened under the attention. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I was with a member of a physical bar. Weather he was there for conversation or to start something, I don't know. Yes, Natsu shouldn't have attacked him, but I'm glad he showed up. I have no fighting experience, and if Sting took it upon himself to start something with me then I would be in trouble. Natsu recognized this and went to help me. He wasn't wrong, but you wish to avoid future instances like this, right? If he teaches me to fight and defend myself then there will be no need for him to come and protect me or start fights for me."

"I agree with what you're thinking, but you've seen how he fights first hand now, Lucy. What if he hurts you?" Laxus growled, obviously displeased by the fact his cousin was beating him. Natsu stared between the two and was shocked to see Lucy smirk. He thought she looked way too good with a smirk on her face.

"If he hurts me then you can punish him as you see fit," she shrugged and Gray stifled a laugh. Natsu glared at him. "But I don't think it'll be a problem."

"What makes you believe that?" Gray asked skeptically, a slight smile on his face. Natsu wanted to wipe it off his face but refrained for fear of Laxus's wrath.

"Intuition," Lucy responded evenly. Gray laughed again, loudly and harshly, while Laxus sighed. Natsu only watched her though. He was amazed by the things that came out of this girl's mouth and wanted to hear her say more. Something about her fascinated him and sent a feeling of excitement through his veins. He loved the feeling, but found it odd that she was the only one who brought it out of him. What did that mean? What exactly was she doing to him?

"And how far has your intuition gotten you, Princess?" Gray asked, but there was no maliciousness behind his voice. Natsu was sure that Gray didn't know of Lucy's past, at least not to the extent that he knew, but he could still see the blonde girl flinch. She recovered quickly though, turning and giving Gray a smug look.

"It's gotten me this far, hasn't it?" She countered. Gray stared at her hard for a moment before relenting with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders, the universal sign that he'd given up on the conversation, and leaned back against the wall. Lucy gave him a small smile of victory before turning back to her cousin. "Please. I understand that Natsu's fighting style is dangerous, and chances of getting hurt are high, but I want—need to learn how to defend myself. I'm a member of Fairy Tail now, the granddaughter of it's Master. I have to be able to rise against the challenges that these tittles propose by myself." She stopped and gulped before her eyes steeled over. "If you won't allow Natsu to teach me then I'll find someone else. Anyone."

The air felt tense to the pink haired boy as he stared between the two blondes. Lucy had finished off her speech shakily, but her posture was tense and her tone sure. Laxus saw this too and blew out angrily through his nose while gritting his teeth. His arms were crossed over his chest, but that did little to hide his clenched fists. Natsu realized that if this was any other person saying it than Laxus wouldn't hesitate to punch, yell, or just let them do whatever the hell they wanted. But this was Lucy, and all three options were out of his reach. It was odd because there wasn't a single person in the bar like this, but Natsu felt that Lucy was truly untouchable.

"Fine." Laxus griped, his tone revealing that he wasn't pleased with this at all. Natsu let out a breath of relief and Lucy sighed before slumping. The pink haired boy didn't understand why he felt so nervous about the thought of Lucy training with someone else, but he was relieved to know that that was no longer an option. "But I'm watching over your training."

"I thought you said you had work to do?" Lucy replied quickly.

"Geh," Laxus jerked backwards, frowning. "W-Well then I'll assign someone I trust to watch over you. Is that clear?" He challenged, looking between Lucy and Natsu.

"Aye, sir," Natsu replied, giving the boy a mock salute.

"Crystal," Lucy agreed, nodding her head. The three stared at each other for a long moment before a laugh broke through. Everyone blinked and turned to watch as Gray pushed off the wall and headed for the door.

"I really don't understand you Dreyar's," he said, glancing back at them over his shoulder. "But I'm looking forward to this. Consider me a volunteer for watch-dog duty."

"No way," Laxus denied right away.

"What? Why the hell not?" Gray exclaimed, jumping and turning to face the blonde.

"Because you'll only cause unrest. You'll taunt Natsu and then he'll attack you and you'll both drag Lucy into it," Laxus deadpanned. Gray opened his mouth to protest and then sighed.

"Fine, Fine. Anyway, I'm heading to class before the bell rings. I suggest you do the same. Wouldn't want Blondie to be late on her first day of school." he waved over his shoulder before opening the door and exiting into the hall.

"Ah, that stripping bastard," Natsu growled under his mouth.

"Natsu," Laxus called and Natsu straightened up quickly. Laxus paused, grabbing his backpack in one hand and Lucy's in the other. Natsu expected him to turn and start yelling again, but the tall blonde only sighed before heading towards the door. "Make sure you take care of Lucy." And then he was gone.

"Um, so..." Natsu scratched the back of his neck uneasily, glancing at the blonde girl. She suddenly turned which caused him to jump.

"I assume I'm in your class, huh?" She asked cheerfully, giving him a large smile. Natsu blinked in surprise before nodding his head stupidly. "Ah, so I guess we're both in class with Sting right? Maybe we'll get a chance to apologize...Anyway! Let's head out, eh?"

Natsu slipped of the table and grabbed his own bag before following after the blonde. The hallways were partially filled with lingering students, mostly first years, but they were able to move easily. Natsu stayed by her side, careful to keep a few inches of distance between them, and half-listened to her as she spoke while the other half of his attention eyed the halls for signs of any Sabertooth lackies.

"This morning was kinda scary though," Lucy said and Natsu paused, his attention fully caught on her words. "I mean, I had felt uneasy around him from the beginning, but who would've thought you would've showed up and suddenly kick his butt?" she chuckled slightly, brushing hair out of her eyes. "You're a little like superman, you know?"

"I'm confused," Natsu admitted after a second, stopping. They were in the hall just before homeroom, and the only people there were students who were rushing to get to class on the upper floors. Lucy stopped a little ahead of him and turned around with a look of confusion. "Why aren't you mad at me? Shouldn't you be yelling at me or something? Shouldn't you be scared of me now? You're acting like this morning didn't even happen!"

"I was just talking about this morning!" Lucy replied back, a bit of annoyance creeping into her tone. "And why on earth would I be scared of you? Or angry at you for that matter?"

"Because I'm mean! I'm scary and hurt people and start fights over nothing!" Natsu griped back. He wasn't sure where the annoyance and anger was suddenly coming from, but it was like a tidal wave going through his chest. Why couldn't she just understand?

"Nothing? You said so yourself; you were fighting to protect me! Or was that just some kind of lame excuse?" Her tone turned darker towards the last sentence. Natsu jerked his mouth closed and stared at her uncertainly. Her eyes stared at him clearly, something he found he both appreciated and found irritating about her.

"No, of course not," Natsu said earnestly. Lucy stared at him for a moment longer before blowing out a breath of air.

"See? You're not mean and you don't fight for nothing," she insisted, smiling. He blinked in surprise, his heart picking up slightly. He felt the back of his neck heat up and quickly covered it with his hand.

"What about being scary?" he countered, turning his eyes away.

"I think you can be scary," Lucy began, eyes turning upwards while she tapped her chin. Natsu looked at her questioningly. "But you can also be very gentle. I think you're scary to your enemies, but you seem like a teddy bear to me."

"Teddy...bear?" Natsu murmured, his manliness feeling like it had dropped a few degrees.

"Oh, uh, no! I mean, you're not quite as soft as a teddy bear. You're more of a...a, uh...a dragon! Yes, you're like a dragon!" She exclaimed, clearly happy to have found the right word.

"Dragon?" he repeated, smiling slightly.

"Yes! You may look strong and scary, but you're only trying to protect your treasure!" she explained, beaming.

"My treasure?" he laughed lightly, gazing at her kindly. "Yeah, I guess that seems pretty accurate."

"Hehe, Natsu the Dragon has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" she asked, tilting her head.

"It does," he agreed with a soft smile. "But if I'm the dragon, does that make you my princess?"

"huh?" Lucy gasped, staring at him blankly. Natsu's smile widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the loud ring of the bell. His smile disappeared as quickly as it had come and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Guess we're gonna be late anyway," he sighed, shifting the bag higher on his shoulder and starting towards the classroom. "Come on, Princess."

"Eep! I'm coming, I'm coming!" she replied, quickly running after him. Natsu chuckled and she pouted as they headed down the hall.

"Can you please explain to me why you're late, Mr. Dragneel?" The teacher asked, staring at the two students who walked into the classroom during his morning speech. Lucy cringed back from the intense gaze of the teacher. The teacher was a man who was on the verge of passing from young to old with a slight beard and long auburn hair that went to his shoulder. He peered down at the two with a very concentrated look, but something about him seemed familiar.

"You can drop the teacher act, Gildarts," Natsu sighed, but his tone was that of amusement. Lucy looked unsurely between Natsu and the teacher, and jumped in surprise when the teacher began to laugh.

"Same as always, Natsu. Who's that behind you?" Gildarts asked, wiping at his eyes. He looked slightly younger with the giant smile on his face. Lucy thought it made him look better.

"Ah, this is Luce!" Natsu said cheerfully, grabbing the blonde's arm and dragging her forward. Lucy squeaked in surprise and skid to a stop in front of the teacher's desk. Gildarts looked her up and down skeptically. Lucy shifted awkwardly under his gaze, glancing back at Natsu and at the class. Some of the students had noticed their entrance and were watching the scene, Sting included, while others just went about rushing to finish homework they didn't do.

"Ain't she a cutie," Gildarts stated finally, a light blush on his cheeks. Lucy jumped and Natsu came forward quickly.

"Don't get any ideas you perv," he warned before leaning forward. "She's part of fairy tail and Laxus's cousin."

"Oh ho!" Gildarts laughed loudly. "So you're the girl everyones talkin' about. Honestly I expected you to look more like your dad, but ya look jus' like your mother."

"You know my mom?" Lucy asked, astonishment tinting her voice. She knew that her mother had grown up here, but she'd never thought that anyone who was here during that time would've stuck around.

"Sure I did. I'm sorry, by the way. She was a great woman. I was never in class with her or nothing but I saw her around plenty enough," he paused, squinting at her. "I'd probably mistake you for her if I had a couple of beers in me."

"No drinking on school grounds, Gildarts," Natsu warned, grabbing Lucy by the shoulder and starting towards the aisle. "Luce's gonna sit with me, okay?"

"Don't do anything your mother wouldn't approve of," Gildarts called after them with a snicker. Lucy flushed and Natsu rolled his eyes.

"I say the same thing to you, old man," Natsu returned, leading Lucy up the aisle. Lucy quickly scanned through the faces of people. She avoided Sting's eyes, which were conveniently peering at her, and spotted a familiar head of red hair. She sent Erza a small wave.

"How many people from fairy tail are in this class?" Lucy whispered, sitting down in the seat Natsu directed her towards. Natsu sat down besides her with a sigh, leaning back in the chair.

"Not too many. Looks like that ice bastard hasn't shown up yet," he said lazily.

"Gray is in this class?" Lucy questioned.

"Unfortunately," he agreed, "Erza and Levy are in this class too."

"What about Kina, Mira, and Liz?" Lucy questioned, settling into her desk.

"They're in the other class. Don't worry though, we'll still see them a lot," he assured her, leaning into his bag and pulling out a notebook. Lucy sighed and bent down to get her own bag when she realized that it wasn't there. Panic settled into her chest, which quickly turned to annoyance when she realized that her bag had been taken by her cousin.

"Damn," she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked quickly, his eyes darting to Sting. The blonde was a few rows ahead of them, but he didn't seem to mind turning in his seat to stare. Lucy avoided his gaze by looking down.

"Laxus has my backpack," Lucy whispers back to him, glaring at the lines in the wood. Natsu is silent for a moment before he chuckla ces lightly. Lucy turns to him in confusion and watches as he tears a page out of his notebook. She blinks slowly when he slides it onto her desk, followed closely behind by a slightly chewed pen. 

"Good thing you have me then," he joked, giving her a large smile. Lucy felt herself blush slightly and smiled back. 

"Definitely," she agreed.

"Alright you little punks!" Gildarts yelled out suddenly. The room quieted instantly and Natsu gave her one last smile before turning towards the front of the room. "Now, lets go over the properties of creative writing."

"He's kinda simple for a third year high school teacher," Lucy said, folding up her notebook page full of notes. She tucked the sheet into her vest pocket despite the fact that she already knew most of the information written down on the page. 

"Simple? Don't let him hear you say that, he'll have a fit," Natsu warned, smiling regardless. Lucy had been surprised when he'd began to attentively take notes. That is, until she looked over five minutes later to find him sound asleep. A couple of kids ended up snoozing during Gildarts's lesson, but the older teacher didn't seem to care. Lucy could only assume he was the type of teacher that told you what he needed to and weather you passed or failed from that point onward was your own fault. 

"I didn't mean it like that, it's just that I already know most of this," she said, motioning to his half-filled paper. A lot of it looked like nonsense and the other half was so ineligible that she didn't even bother to try and figure out what it said. 

"Well aren't you little miss genius?" he yawned, stretching his arms widely behind his back. Lucy made a face at his comment. He ignored her and grabbed his papers, rudely stuffing them in his bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "Come on, next period is science. Mr. Jura won't be happy if we're late."

"Are you planning on sleeping during his class as well?" she joked, following him down the aisle. 

"Tch. I ain't got a death wish, so no," Natsu said. Lucy laughed at his expression and waved to Gildarts as she passed by. 

"Are all the teachers as laid back as Mr. Clive?" Lucy queered as they stepped into the hall. 

"Just call him Gildarts; everyone else does it and he's a part of Fairy Tail anyway," Natsu told her, grabbing her arm and gently leading her through the bustling crowd of passerbyers. "And it depends on what your schedule is. Gildarts is about as chill as chill can get, but people like Mr. Jura are crazy about responsibility and self-punishment crap."

"Self...punishment?" Lucy repeated uncertainly. 

"Yeah. We call him Monk Man behind his back. He's all about focusing 110% of your power on studies and training your mind to be a good student. He's a bit of an odd ball, but there are a lot of those at this school," he explained. 

"What bar is he from?" she wondered. 

"Not everyone here is from a bar," Natsu informed her, stopping and turning around. "A lot of people actually aren't so be careful. You can talk to me about it and I'll point out who is from where, but its best not to talk about it. I mean, everyone knows what's going on, but they kind of just pretend its not happening. If people start talking about it than they're forced to acknowledge it." 

"So Mr. Jura isn't a member?" 

"Oh no, he is," Natsu chuckled and Lucy scrunched her nose at him. "He's a member of Lamia Scale." 

"Lamia Scale? I've never heard of that one," Lucy murmured, thinking back. 

"There are too many bars to keep track of, trust me. You'll get the groove eventually though. Anyway, Lamia Scale is the bar closest to us and is actually an ally. And by ally I mean we're not currently out to kill each other," he explained with a smile. 

"Currently..." she sighed. 

"There are a couple of other weirdo teachers to watch out for too. Like Brain and Mr. Everlue. Those guys sure got some issues," he shook and rubbed his shoulders, giving her a quick smirk. "Good thing we don't have them." 

"Y-yeah," Lucy agreed, rubbing her head tiredly. "There seem to be a lot of different people at this school, huh?" 

"Well we're not the only high school with bar students," Natsu shrugged. "Theres also Balam High. That school's full of students we don't get along with." Lucy watched as Natsu's expression seemed to darken. "Don't go over there, alright? Not unless you're with me or Laxus." 

"Are they really that bad?" She asked curiously, her mind picturing up tall dark figures with scary weapons. She shivered. 

"Yes." Natsu told her. "But don't worry, you won't have to ever talk to them."

"Probably," she reminded him gently. He paused for a moment before nodding his agreement. 

"Yeah, probably."