Erza came to the meeting with a determined face. No matter how much she tried stricting her expression, Lucy successfully discovered the problem. She went to her side and started patting her on the back.

"You did well, Erza. I know you did."

Natsu was dumbfounded, staring at the scene. "What are you talking about? She's clearly fine. She passed the exam."

The red head started crying, all of a sudden, lying her head on Lucy's shoulder. "I- I could've done better... what would my parents say about this..?"

Lucy shot a glare at the male once again for asking irrelevant questions. But first, keeping Erza in her arms until she stops sobbing on her now wet blouse. "Oh, Natsu, Natsu, Natsu. You should really try being observant once in a while."

"You don't observe." Natsu declares. "You take action based upon how they act towards you. How should I know y'all are sensitive at the moment?" He was back to tapping on his phone, playing games to distract.

"We took a test. Duh."

"There's.. there's still hope for.. for finals.." Erza tried convincing herself, pulling out the paper bag she brought before coming here. Inside was her favorite dessert, strawberry cheesecake. She takes it every time she's stressed, sad or celebrating. Basically, every single day. It's a wonder how she never gets sick of the taste.

"Where's Gray, anyway?"

"Oh," Natsu was typing away. "He's here."

Gray was panting. Even when he was trying to hide that fact, the beads of sweat coming across his forehead were exactly the opposite of what he's saying: "What's this meeting about, again?" He couldn't care less. He just needed time to kill before his next shift.

Natsu's meetings: they're usually for resolving conflict (not that that's ever happened), beach/camping trip together (that was 1 time, it was an overnight school swimming party the five of them held) and personal issues (Natsu, mostly).

Judging from his hands, he's completely shaken up about this plan. He's been thinking about it for a while. At last, he finally let it out.

"I'm asking this girl out from my class. Her name's Lisanna. And I was wondering.."

Blank. It all disappeared. The excitement. The thrill. Lucy, especially, was feeling down in the dumps. She had the urge to vomit.

"Finally, huh?" Gray was the first to comment. "You've been talking about her for decades, no wonder you're still a virgin." Natsu punched him on the arm for that.

Then, the worst case scenario just plaged right in front of Lucy, "I'll help you out, buddy." Gray agreeing. "I second that." Erza going along with it. "Count me in!" Levy, too? Great.

"Luce?" Natsu and the others had their hands paused in front of them, waiting for the last member to come on board with this. They had this rule: if not all members go with the plan, they put it off. They either decide on another time or they forget the subject. Seeing her friend this cheerful would pain her to see him sulk if she doesn't let him do this. In the end, her hand went on top of them all.

"Alright!" The group cheered, giving each other hi fives, howling like wolves during hunting season.

"Okay, okay, we start tomorrow." Natsu rubs his hands together before shouting, "Anyone hungry for lunch?"

"Tofu!" Levy suggested.

"I'm in the mood for seafood." Erza.

"Whatever's fine." Gray checked the time, "if I want to get to my next shift, we have to hurry in like, 30 minutes."

Natsu looked in Lucy's direction, waiting for her to speak up. He knew how much she usually craves for tempura at this hour. With a smug, he wrapped an arm around his buddy and directed her to her favorite restaurant, "I know where we're gonna eat."

Lucy, on the other hand, wasn't feeling perky at all, despite sitting in her favorite seat in the restaurant ordering tempura. Erza bumped the table with her fist. "I said I wanted seafood."

"There's seafood on the—" Levy was cut off when the red head stood up from her place.

"I'll catch up with you guys later."

Ah, Erza. She could've told them she wanted to meet up with her boyfriend, Jellal. She doesn't need to be shy. But then again, they had just started dating about two months ago. Maybe Erza's not ready to show her sweet side to the group yet.

"I have an idea!" Natsu spoke out of the blue, only to be greeted with three people busy looking up on their cellphones. "I'm gonna impress Lisanna. I am. I will!"

"You can't even pass your homework on time." Gray snickered, counting the numerous times Natsu's sneaked into the university faculty for his grades, with his help, of course.

"Okay," Lucy made sure to take a deep breath before saying what's on her mind out loud. She computed the possible outcomes on how this conversation's going to end, with either Natsu dropping the topic or him choosing Lisanna over them. "I'm about to tell you something that's been bothering me since 12 minutes ago." She leaned on the table, reeling in the three's ears. "I don't want you to go out with Lisanna."