The room was tense as all the students stared down at Mr. Gildarts. Currently the teacher was rummaging his hand through an old fashioned top-hat. The hat was filled with tiny paper slips, and each inscribed a name. One by one the teacher was pulling out these names and pairing students up. Muttered groans and exclamations of both protest and excitement filled the room after each pair was set up. Natsu was sitting on the edge of his seat, his eyes flickering eagerly between the hat and a white-haired girl in the front row. He had been trying to get a moment alone with Lisanna for weeks, and this was his chance. He prayed to whatever god was out there to grant him this simple request.

"Fullbuster and Lockser," Gildarts called out, using last names for his more familiar students. Beside Natsu, a black haired boy groaned while a few rows down, a blue-haired girl squealed excitedly, hearts popping out of her eyes. Natsu gave his friend a sympathetic look, but he wasn't able to say encouraging words as Gildarts called, "Dragneel and..." 

Please, please, please let it be Liz. If I've ever done anything right, please let him say Lisanna!

Gildarts paused, a moment of surprise flashing over his face. Natsu looked at him hopefully. "Well, well," the old teacher chuckled, making Natsu's stomach soar. Gray sighed as Natsu smiled. "Dragneel and Heartfilia."

"Huh?" Natsu froze. Were his ears deceiving him? Gildarts couldn't have possibly—

"Hahaha!" Gray laughed aloud while a mix of murmurs went through the room. Some of the boys muttered jealously while the girls giggled, but Natsu could barely breathe. 

"Heartfilia?" He asked, louder than he'd meant. Some of the girls burst out laughing, and he found himself involuntarily looking at the blonde girl. He wished he hadn't; she was glaring at him for his outburst. 

Heartfilia, Lucy Heartfilia. She was the top popular girl at school, known throughout all grades for her incomparable beauty. Pretty as she might be however, Natsu hated her. She was snobby and mean and always glaring. Her friends were mean too; the cheerleaders. Natsu was especially afraid of that red-head girl. 

As if the gods were really mocking him, Gildarts decided to break the atmosphere by pulling the next two names out of his hat. "Little Strauss and Bickslow." 

Natsu's heart, which had previously been in his stomach, sunk all the way to his feet. He watched with heartbreak as the weird boy walked over to Lisanna, smiling. He sunk into his seat, not paying attention as Gildarts listed off the remaining partners. It didn't matter anymore. The gods were against him forever. 

...

The bell rang and Natsu was loading his supplies into his backpack sullenly when she came over. He knew it was her from her overpowering perfume. He cringed, seeing her boots stop beside him. 

"So where are we going to work on this?" She asked, her tone sharp. He could tell she was still upset over his reaction earlier, but that was fine by him. He was still upset, too. 

"The library?" Natsu responded in an obvious tone. He could sense her flinch. 

"When?" She questioned. 

"Tomorrow," he said quickly, zipping up his backpack and darting around her. He spotted Lisanna walking away and wanted to catch up with her so they could walk home together. Lisanna lived the opposite way of Natsu, but she didn't need to know that. 

"Hang on!" Lucy squeaked, and suddenly she had a hold on Natsu's jacket. He stopped just short of tripping, nearly tugging her along with him. As it was, she skidded down a step and had to grab a desk to keep her balance. Maybe you shouldn't wear six inch death traps, then, Natsu thought, but he tried to keep his face relaxed as he turned to her. 

"What is it?" He asked, but he was sure his voice was too flat. Lucy froze, releasing his jacket. She huffed out indignantly and straightened her tousled shirt. 

"I can't meet at the library tomorrow," she stated, like it should be obvious. When he gave her a blank look she shook her head and sighed. "I have the crosstown classic." 

"Great, have fun with that," Natsu muttered, turning away. She jumped around him, rather fast for a girl in heels, and stopped him from moving downward. He groaned in annoyance, but he saw that Lisanna was thankfully waiting for him by the door. His worry decreased a little and he managed to find some patience to deal with his annoying partner. "Alright...so lets meet on Wednesday?" 

"After school?" She clarified, sounding reluctant. 

"At the library," he added on nodding slowly so she would understand. She scowled at him but, content, moved out of his way. Natsu rolled his eyes as he passed by her, jogging to meet the silver haired girl waiting for him. 

...

"So you're partners with Bickslow," Natsu started awkwardly, kicking at a stray rock. 

"Yeah," Lisanna sighed sadly. Bickslow was known as the school's freak. He was just as popular as Lucy, for all the opposite reasons. "He's a bit, um, you know..."

"Crazy?" Natsu guessed.

"Different." Lisanna corrected, looking at him reproachfully. Natsu smiled, and she rolled her eyes. "How about you? You must be excited to be paired up with Lucy?" 

"Excited...that's a word for it, i guess..." he grumbled, kicking a rock harder. It skidded out into the street. 

"You're not?" Lisanna sounded surprised, looking over at him curiously. 

"I'm not, not excited," he shrugged, hoping she'd catch his drift and let it go. She didn't. 

"Why not? She's very pretty," Lisanna said suggestively. Natsu just shook his head, making her frown. "She's really smart."

"She is?" Natsu sounded so surprised that Lisanna glowered. He backtracked carefully, "I mean, I didn't know that."

"She has mostly honor classes," she informed him. 

"Not science though," he muttered, trying his best not to add 'unfortunately'. 

"Well, she used to have all honor classes," Lisanna corrected herself, staring at the ground. "I guess she got really sick last year and missed a ton of school. She tried to keep up with most of her schoolwork, but she had to drop a few classes." 

"Sounds like you know a lot about her," Natsu speculated. 

"Mira-nee is friends with her," Lisanna explained, once again, to Natsu's surprise. "She doesn't seem that bad," she added. 

"I didn't say she was bad," he said, noticing the accusing tone in her voice. 

"You also don't seem to think she's very good, either," she returned evenly, peering up at him curiously. "It's really not fair to base somebody off of rumors." 

"I'm not," he claimed, "that's why I'm not saying she's bad or good." 

Lisanna huffed, obviously not pleased by his answer, but they were already at her house. She paused at the gate, looking at Natsu with big eyes. She looked like she was going to say something important, but then she shook her head and turned away. "Just try to keep an open mind, okay?" she called, climbing up the steps. "Bye Natsu!" 

He waved after her, waiting until the door was closed and locked behind her. With a sigh he continued up the path, turning one street over before backtracking three miles back to his house. 

...

Wednesday came sooner than Natsu had wanted. By the time class let out and he was packing up his stuff, his stomach was filled with dread. It was with a somber attitude that he walked down the aisle of class, readying himself to spend an hour stuck in the same room as Lucy Heartfilia. 

Natsu was just walking down the hall to the library when he heard his name being called. "Ah, Dragneel! There you are!" He turned and saw Gildarts jogging down the hall after him. Natsu stopped, waiting for the old man to catch up. 

"Hello, Gildarts," Natsu greeted, smirking as the teacher panted to catch his breath. The man glared at him, silently daring him to say anything. 

"Glad I caught you," he said, standing up straight with a sigh. "I'm afraid to tell you that Ms. Heartfilia isn't here today."

"huh?" Natsu said, frowning. He thought he remembered seeing her in science earlier. It was impossible not to smell such a strong perfume. Why did girls want to smell like vanilla anyway? It seemed gross to him. 

"She went home early," Gildarts explained, noticing his confusion. "Sick." 

"Oh," Natsu said, his dread turning to lead. "Of course."

"Sorry about that," Gildarts apologized with a smile. 

"It's fine," Natsu dismissed. 

"Thank you for understanding," He patted Natsu on the back, chuckling. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"  

"Sure thing!" Natsu smiled back, waving. 

...

"She ditched me," Natsu said for the fifth time, glaring at the fuzzy stuffed animal sitting in front of her. 

"She didn't ditch you," Lisanna insisted, yet again. She was studiously writing notes for history, which Natsu was supposed to be doing as well, but he was too distracted by his anger. 

"Oh yeah, because she just happened to get sick a period before we had to meet up," Natsu rolled his eyes, picking up the bear and squeezing it. 

"Hey!" Lisanna scolded, coming over and snatching the animal from his grip. She held it to her chest protectively. "Don't take your anger out on Captain Snuggles." 

"Sorry," he muttered half-heartedly, flipping onto his black. 

"You know, if it bothers you so much, why don't you just go to her house?" Lisanna suggested, sitting down on her chair, still holding the bear. 

"That's just creepy," Natsu insisted. "Besides, I don't even know where she lives."

"I'm sure Mira-nee does," she offered, raising an eyebrow. 

"No, I'm not going to her house," Natsu shook his head. "I'll just yell at her tomorrow."

"Sure," Lisanna smirked, turning back to her notes. "Now get your homework done!" 

...

Despite all his arguments and complaints, Natsu did end up getting Lucy's address from Mira. It became necessary when Lucy being gone for a day turned into two, three, four, a week, two weeks. Now, they had three days until their project was due, and Natsu had done nothing. 

Now he was standing in front of her home—mansion, really—gaping. The slip containing her address was still clutched in his hand, scrawled in Mira's handwriting, and his backpack was slung over his shoulder. He felt very insignificant and underdressed compared to the giant home, but he had to remind himself he was there to get a project done. Taking a deep breath, he buzzed the gate. 

Natsu expected to have an awkward exchange with some metallic-voiced person, but the gates buzzed him through right away. He frowned, looking around, and stepped through. 

A butler greeted him at the door. The man was tall and lanky, with a head full of shock white hair, and dark glasses covered his eyes. 

"Hello, Mr. Dragneel," the man greeted, leading him in. Natsu stepped into the hallway, trying his hardest not to stare at the grandness of it all. It was very hard, however. Everything seemed to be made out of gold. 

"Uh, hey," Natsu replied. He wondered if it was really such a good idea for him to have shown up. Something about the sternness of the butlers voice made him think now was not a good time. 

"Capricorn?" A female voice called. Natsu looked looked up and felt his chest contract. Lucy stood at the end of the hall, gazing down at him with surprise on her face. She looked the most natural that Natsu had ever seen her. She wore a pair of jeans and a comfy sweater, and her hair was left in a loose braid with bits spiraling over the place. Beautiful, Natsu thought, but thrust the idea out of his mind quickly. "Natsu?" She looked disbelieving. 

"Hey," he waved, feeling incredibly lame. Lucy blinked at him, and then at Capricorn. The servant held up his hands, as if saying Natsu being there wasn't his fault. 

"Uh, come in," Lucy said, remembering that he was a guest. Natsu awkwardly shuffled over to her. He could feel the butler's eyes digging into his back the whole way, making a nervous sweat start on his back. He stopped a few feet away from the blonde, staring at her uncertainly. 

"You've been out," he started. His speech felt limited to very basic words and his tongue felt like a heavy lump of useless. 

"Yeah," Lucy agreed, shuffling her bare feet awkwardly. "Do you want to go, um, somewhere to work on our project?" 

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Natsu nodded. Lucy smiled and turned on a heel. He followed her into a spacious living room, with two leather couches and a large tv. She clicked off the tv, but not before Natsu could see what she was watching. 

"Star wars?" He asked with raised eyebrows. Lucy blushed, shoving some blankets to the side. 

"The third," she agreed with a tiny nod. 

"Revenge of the Sith?" Natsu laughed. Somehow the fact that this popular girl spent her time watching star wars reruns was very funny to him, although he didn't know why. 

"Shut up," she murmured, ducking her head in embarrassment. Natsu settled down on the coach, watching as she grabbed various supplies from all over the room. He was surprised to see multiple homework assignments from over the weeks. It reminded him that she hadn't been there. 

"You've been gone for a while," Natsu said as she cleared away some plates. She stiffened, setting the dinnerware softly on another table. 

"Sorry about that," she said quietly, sitting down opposite of him. "I would've told you to come over sooner and work on it, but I don't, uh, have your phone number." 

"Right," he nodded, pausing. It was quiet as she pulled out the appropriate work from her folders. "Can I ask why?" 

Lucy froze and looked up at him with wide eyes. Natsu saw defiance in her eyes, but the fire seemed to die when he kept eye contact. She turned her head to the side, sighing. 

"My mom," she muttered quietly, so quietly I thought I might've misheard her. 

"Your mom?"

"She's sick," Lucy explained quietly. "It was pretty bad last year, which is why I missed a lot of school, but it's even worse now...She isn't going to, she's not..." Lucy took a deep breath, blinking her eyes quickly. He realized with guilt that she was holding back tears, and he knew that her mother must be dying. 

"So we're going to do a project on which chemicals react with salt," Natsu cut her off, surprising both her and himself. She blinked at him stupidly before nodding and looking down at her notes. A small smile took over her face. 

"Alright," she agreed. "I'll go grab the salt."

...

Natsu didn't expect to have so much fun with Lucy. As the time passed and their projects progressed, he began to realize that there was more to Lucy Heartfilia than just a simple cheerleader. Speaking of which—

"Cheerleader?" She laughed, sipping on her water. Natsu blushed, rubbing his neck. 

"It's not my fault!" He said crossly. 

"Yes it is!" She giggled again, shaking her head. "So when I was talking about the crosstown classic?"

"I thought it was some cheerleading thing," Natsu admitted in a grumble. Lucy smiled again, which made Natsu's blush deepen. He liked her smiles. In fact, he liked her whole face. Every expression she made seemed different than the last, not matter how little of a change. He found himself looking forward to seeing how she would react to different things. He especially liked when something he said made her smile or blush. 

"Volleyball," she corrected him, settling back in her chair with a sigh. "I play volleyball." 

"Makes more sense now," he agreed, mimicking her. She raised an eyebrow questioningly, silently asking him to elaborate. "You're way too weird to be a cheerleader." 

"Rude!" She gasped, sitting up. "You're the weird one! Thinking I was some popular cheerleader..." 

So as it turned out, Natsu had been very wrong. Not only was Lucy not a cheerleader, she wasn't very popular either. Her friends were mostly nerds or other weirdos, including that scary red-head; the student council president. As she put it, 'how can I be popular if I wasn't even there for half the year?'. 

"So where is your mom?" Natsu asked after a long moment of comfortable silence. He wasn't trying to pry into her personal matters so much as he was trying to gauge how soon she'd be returning to school. Not only did he want her to present the project with him, he was excited to have a new friend. 

The change in subject seemed to damper Lucy's spirit. She smiled, although it was one of those sad smiles Natsu was beginning to recognize. 

"You just missed her," Lucy explained, looking up carefully. "She died yesterday." 

Natsu felt all the wind go out of him. He knew his mouth was hanging open, but he didn't have any control over his body anymore. His mind screamed insults at him, calling himself and idiot and a dumbass. 

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't...sorry..." He stammered, unsure of what to say. Lucy laughed, a sad, morose laugh. 

"It's okay," she assured him, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "We knew it was going to come soon enough." 

"How long have you known?" He wondered, but she didn't seem insulted by the question. 

"Years," she shrugged helplessly. "Our house has smelled like death for as long as I can remember." I 

Smell. "Is that why you wear so much perfume?" 

Lucy laughed in surprise, looking at him curiously. "Yeah, it helps cover up the smell."

"My dad died when I was young, too," Natsu suddenly blurted out, looking awkwardly at the ground. Lucy was silent as she processed this information. Natsu was a little afraid she would be upset, and he was confused at himself. Why did he tell her that? He hadn't even told Lisanna that yet. 

The chair squeaked as Lucy got up. Before Natsu could look up, he felt two slim arms wrap around his neck. The next thing he knew, his face was pressed into her cheek and the smell of vanilla filled his nose. He was surprised to find, however, that this scent was much softer and diluted than the perfume. It was her natural scent, he realized. Wether accumulated from years of wearing the perfume or just her natural smell, Natsu didn't care. He'd never craved desert so much before. 

...

The class applauded as Lucy and Natsu finished their presentation. Lucy smiled at the crowd, removing her goggles. Natsu followed suit, smiling down at her. She smirked back, biting her lip in an attempt to hide her grin. 

"Thank you, Lucy and Natsu," Gildarts said, smiling. "What an excellent presentation." Lucy nodded and they headed back to their seats. Lucy smiled at him as she slid into her spot beside the small blue haired girl Natsu learned was named Levy, while he continued up to his spot beside Gray. The black haired boy smirked at him as he sat down. 

"I could really feel the chemical reactions, even from all the way up here," he teased, his eyes narrowing. 

"Your puns are shit," Natsu informed him, but even the icy bastard's jokes couldn't  put a damper on his good mood. 

When the last bell rang, Natsu gathered all his stuff and walked over to Lucy's desk. He said hi to Levy and smiled at the blonde as she slowly put away her supplies. 

"Hey Natsu!" Natsu turned to see Lisanna looking at him, her eyes curious. "Are we walking home together?"

Natsu froze, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. He'd gotten so used to walking to Lucy's house over the past week that he had forgotten they weren't partners anymore. There would be no more going to her house after school. No more hanging out. The thought depressed him. 

"Go on," Lucy told him, as if sensing his thoughts. He looked down at her curiously but she just smiled, if not a little sadly. Natsu frowned and turned back to Lisanna. 

"Sorry, Liz, but I'm going to Lucy's house today," he told her, smiling. Lisanna looked surprised, but it quickly morphed into a smile. 

"No problem, see you tomorrow!" She cheered, turning and walking out of the room. Natsu released a breath he'd been holding and turned to see Lucy staring at him. 

"What?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Hurry up or we'll miss the new Fairy Tail episode." 

Lucy's face slowly morphed into a smile. A slight blush tinted her cheeks as she shook her head, packing up her supplies. Natsu smiled at her. 

...

"Dang, I didn't expect that at all," Lucy shook her head, leaning back onto the couch with a puzzled expression. "Who would've expected him to be the good guy?" 

"You can't judge on appearances, Luce," Natsu informed her, still proud with himself since he had guessed the ending correctly. 

"How hypocritical of you, Natsu," she smirked, pointing at herself. "A week ago, you'd believed I was some shallow cheerleader." 

"Psh. That was just a little mistake on my part. Closer inspection clearly reveals you to be a weirdo," he insisted. Lucy gaped at him, smacking him with a pillow. 

"Rude!" she giggled, shaking her head. "Just admit it, you judged me before knowing me." 

"I did no such thing!" Natsu insisted stubbornly. "I just had to see you a little more clearly." 

"Does that make me your clarity?" She asked, smirking. 

"Absolutely not!" He denied. "That just makes you a weirdo." Lucy laughed a full laugh that made Natsu's heart swell. "Let's watch the third star wars."

"Revenge of the Sith?"

"Of course." 

Lucy and Natsu moved closer together, bundling the blankets around them. They leaned back as the intro began to play, enjoying each other's company.