Summer and Spring

By scribbles of madness

CHAPTER ONE

Smile

The familiar pounding of blood in his ears, the electricity in his fingertips as adrenaline surged through him, that sheer, blissful sensation of invincibility, feeling as if the entire damn world is in his hands – Natsu Dragneel grinned deviously as he tried to evade the authorities.

A full moon shone brightly upon the quaint seaside town, bathing everything in pale silver. The fire Natsu had started earlier in the ship continued to blaze a few kilometers off the shore. It seemed as if a star had fallen from the sky, and floated onto the surface of the dark blue water.

"Where are you taking me?"

The girl whose wrist was enclosed in Natsu's hand struggled to free herself from his firm grip. Fear struck her heart. She had just barely escaped being a victim of human trafficking, she was being lead somewhere by a man she had never met before that afternoon, and now the military were after them.

Honestly, she wasn't that discourteous when that old shopkeeper refused to lower the price of the silver key to a more affordable (by her standards, of course) one, was she? She hardly deserved this much punishment.

Natsu dragged her down the concrete steps, paying no attention to her pleas for him to slow down. She was wearing stilettos, after all.

Lucy Heartfilia, for that was her name, forced herself to keep up with his speed. His was that of monstrous proportions. Natsu beamed at her in pure excitement.

"You wanted to join Fairy Tail, right?" he asked.

His words reached her amidst the barking of orders from not so far away, the repetitive sound of leather shoes against pavement as the chase went on, and the distinct crackling of flames.

"Then come with me."

At first, Lucy was stunned. She stared at Natsu; scrutinizing his guileless smile to check if the invitation was genuine. All her life, she had always felt kind of out of place. She knew where she was supposed to stand in society. She was a Heartfilia. A princess. Even in those blasted ballet classes, those agonizing birthday parties of kids she had never known, even under her own roof, she felt like an invader. Foreign and unwanted.

Now, a hand has been held out to her. Will Fairy Tail be the home she had wanted so badly for so long?

Slowly, the corners of Lucy's lips lifted up, and remained that way even when her cheeks hurt so much as she gave a resounding 'Okay!' in acceptance of his invitation. They ran, laughing.

Throughout their escape, Natsu daydreamed about Fairy Tail. Throughout the years, the random fights breaking out in different corners, certain to merge into one huge brawl, and the disorganized, unintelligible noise they call conversation became routine to Natsu. He looked forward to them even. But even though the guild however it was right then was the best thing that could've happened to him, second only to Igneel, he couldn't help sensing something was missing.

Then he wondered about Lucy, how she would fare with such a rowdy bunch of people.

Her radiant, warm smile in the middle of that chaotic shitstorm.

Natsu glanced back at his newfound friend; from the look of sheer exuberance on her face, it was as if they weren't being chased all over town.

Doesn't matter, he thought. We're going home.

A/N: Really short, but I promise the chapters are gonna get longer soon :) Review, please ^^ Thank you for reading!