Why exactly had he let Gray talk him into going out last night?

Waking up with a throbbing in his head like no other, Natsu Dragneel silently cursed his best friend as he shifted around in his sheets. Granted, it had been the first night back in the fraternity house for the new year but did that mean they had to get THAT annihilated? He could still taste the alcohol on his lips as his stomach churned at the mere thought of how much he'd actually remembered consuming the night before.

Finally able to lug himself out of bed, Natsu reached for his phone to check the time only to find it dead. He plugged it in and resolved to take a shower in hopes of washing off what was left of last night's debauchery. He was supposed to TA a chemistry class at 10 and figured the professor would also appreciate it if he didn't smell like a brewery. The grad student threw his mildly offensive smelling shirt into his nearly overflowing hamper before grabbing his shower kit and heading out into the fraternity house hallway in hopes of finding one of the shower rooms open.

As he showered, Natsu thought back on the previous night and tried to piece it all together to the best of his abilities. Gray had finished moving his things into the room next door to Natsu's and said that they deserved drinks for a day's hard work of moving and setting the house up for the new year. Plenty of the other Fairy Tail brothers had agreed with him and they all had ended up at a bar a couple blocks from Magnolia College's main campus. He vaguely remembered sidling up to the bar at the fraternity's favorite off-campus hang out spot "Mystogan's". It was owned by one of the alumni and that made it easy to get top service on a whim. A few rounds of shots with the boys led to buying a couple more shots for some girls from one of the other sororities. Not really looking for the kind of company they were, he excused himself to keep drinking by himself at the bar until the fraternity DD announced it was time to go. They went for a few more rounds back at the house and honestly, Natsu couldn't remember when he'd finally called it quits and hauled his ass to bed.

He remembered seeing Lisanna and Bickslow on his way out of the bar and being eternally grateful that he was not going to have to endure something like that. It was bad enough that his own fraternity brother had decided to date his ex-girlfriend, what made it worse was that she seemed to be EVERYWHERE. After Natsu had broken up with her, he'd expected her to stay clear of anything related to Fairy Tail. The last thing he'd saw coming was her almost immediately shacking up with one of his brothers.

Shaking his head, he turned the water off and wrapped the towel around his waist before stepping out into the general washroom area. It reminded him of a high school locker room but much more adequately equipped and much cleaner (surprisingly). Grabbing his things, Natsu let himself back out into the hall and managed to get back to his room and dressed before finally getting to his phone. He grabbed a black and red button down and dark blue jeans, making sure they were all clean before actually putting them on. Once he turned it on, the grad student immediately began to panic. Not only did he have multiple missed text messages from various people (including his supervisory professor), but he realized it was 10:10. He was already late and it was just Day One! If he ran, he could make it to the science building in about ten minutes, which would have to do.

Natsu grabbed his bag, his scarf, pet his adorable blue cat, Happy, and ran out the door, hoping he'd have just enough fortitude to make it given his incredibly hungover state. After running like his life depended on it, the Teacher's Assistant burst through the double doors of the lecture hall, earning him stares from the entire room as he took his place at the tiny desk in the back of the room. A large grin and a wave to the professor seemed to dissuade the anger of the older man for the moment, or at least until the classroom was empty.

Why did she decide to take Chemistry at 10am?

Lucy Heartfilia was sincerely regretting her decision to take one of the hardest classes of her first semester in college first thing in the morning. Waking up in her small dorm room to the soft harp music playing from her cell phone, she stretched and thrust her feet into her fuzzy slippers before grabbing her shower kit and heading down the hall. She was still getting used to not having her own bathroom, but a short walk and a significantly smaller bedroom were the slight prices to pay for the most freedom she'd ever had.

The last couple days had been long. After leaving home, luckily Lucy didn't have a lot of heavy physical items. She's been allowed to fill a trunk from her closet (Thank Gods for Virgo, Aries, and their picking abilities), and whatever else she could fit into her tiny VW Beetle. It didn't equate to much. But that was okay with the runaway heiress. She didn't need her father's money or his lifestyle. She'd gotten into Magnolia College on her own merits and that's where she'd decided to attend. It was by the grace of all that was holy that she'd obtained a full scholarship and that her friend Levy had been able to find her a job on campus in the library. Between the two, her classes, books, and board were paid for and it even left her with a little bit of spending money left over. Definitely not enough to move into an apartment of her own or anything where she could have a decent shower again.

Once she was finished, Lucy got dressed in the stall and walked out into the communal washroom fully clothed. Being naked in front of random women just didn't seem appealing in the least. She'd selected a modest outfit, light jeans with a curve hugging blouse that surprisingly didn't show off TOO much. Making her way past the morning rush of girls in her dorm trying to make their way to the floor showers, she reached her single room (that she'd been lucky enough to obtain) and gathered her belongings for the day. After class she'd have to go work her shift in the library so she made sure to bring her more comfortable shoes in her bag.

Lucy made sure to leave with enough time to stop and meet up with Levy, a life-long friend and partner-in-crime, before class. Even though Levy was a year older, they grew up practically like sisters, the older girl being Lucy's main reason to apply to Magnolia College in the first place. While walking up to the sorority house, she noticed her cerulean-haired friend waiting on the steps for her.

"Good morning, Lu!" Levy greeted, a steaming mug of what smelled like coffee in each of her tiny hands. Her messenger bag hung across her shoulders exposing her lettered sweater. Lucy still couldn't understand why her beyond intelligent friend felt the need to pay for friends, but as long as Levy was happy and safe the young blonde would let it slide.

"Morning, Lev!" Lucy cheered back, happily accepting one of the mugs and graciously tilting it toward its gifter before allowing herself to drink the beautiful nectar that is caffeine. It was their morning ritual, each of them taking turns with supplying their habit. "Still on for our movie night tonight?" They'd agreed that the night after Lucy's first day of classes that they'd veg out like they used to in Lucy's dorm to help her feel more at home.

The blunette frowned. "I'm sorry Lu, but there's a ceremony tonight to start the year," she groaned. Honestly she would have rathered the night in with her best friend but unfortunately, this was something she wasn't permitted to miss. She thought of the impending party afterward engaging all of Greek Row and had a brilliant idea.

Levy excitedly flailed her hands at Lucy before grabbing the blonde's shoulders and looking her square in the eyes. "I know!" She squealed, Lucy grimacing already. Levy had already tried to get her to Rush over the Summer but after a couple... incidents, she'd decided it wasn't for her. Her focus quickly returned to her gushing friend. "Tonight there's going to be a huuuuuge party down Greek Row. Plenty of hot guys and twice the alcohol..." she singsonged, hoping to allure Lucy to join in.

Luckily the two had arrived at their chemistry lecture before Lucy had to submit and answer. She hated Greek events but maybe a giant party wouldn't hurt. After all, it was only the first day of classes, it wasn't like she had to lot to do already. She'd have to see how she was feeling after work.

The professor, a rather small man with a bald head and mustache soon started the standard introductions, passing out the syllabi grumpily after realizing that his assistant had failed to show up. The class fell into a quiet rhythm before it was thrown off course by a man who had just erupted into the hall, a man who Levy and Lucy, unfortunately, knew quite well.

In burst Fairy Tail's own Natsu Dragneel, panting as if he'd just ran a marathon in order to get to class. He took his seat at his small desk, and nodded and waved at the professor who appeared as if to want to kill the TA. Lucy sighed to herself, remembering back to the summer semester, and dropped her head against the cool grain of the wooden bench style desk.

It was going to be a long semester.