So I'm re-editing and reposting the earlier chapters in this story so that I can have a consistent update schedule. For those who have stuck with me thus far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! This fiction will be updated on the first and fifteenth of every month (depending on how far I can get ahead, I might bump up to weekly updates, but bimonthly is going to be the case until then). Thank you for choosing to read my story and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I seriously don't own anything. If I did, then my ships would be having babies and I'd die of happiness in my trashy shipping heaven... Please carry on...

Hey There... Ch. 1

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," Lucy nervously chuckled as she slowly backed away from him. She had met up with the guy on a blind date and he had been progressively acting more and more strangely as the night progressed.

"No," the man stated as he licked his lips. "I believe that this is definitely where we were supposed to be going on this date."

"Um, well I think that we're going to have to agree to disagree..." Lucy trailed off as she felt her mouth go dry. Why had she listened to her matchmaking-crazed friend about blind dates on Craig's List? Lucy vowed right there that she would never EVER do this again. She tried not to panic as her back hit the wall of the building. Every muscle in her body was screaming for her to run, to lash out, to do something, but Lucy couldn't seem to get her brain to tell her body that she heartily agreed with these urges.

"You're going to look so nice up on my wall," the man said as he started laughing maniacally. "You are probably the prettiest so far," he smugly stated and Lucy saw the man draw out a pocket knife. At this, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut as she started praying fervently for anyone to help at this point. She couldn't sneakily dial 911 because her phone was in her front pocket and it would tip him off as to what she was doing. She thought about screaming, but she quickly reasoned that that wouldn't help in this current situation.

Her breath caught in her throat as he caged her against the wall. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and realized that he must have pre-gamed before their "date." She barely contained a whimper as the man started gliding the knife over her skin.

"You know your skin is too flawless right?" He said in a rush as the knife quickened its pace across her pale skin. "Most women would kill to have beautiful creamy skin like yours. Mind if I taste to see if you taste as good as you look?" He didn't wait for a reply as his tongue traced the delicate vessels in her neck. She had to bite back the sick feeling in her stomach to keep herself from throwing up. She didn't dare give him any satisfaction from her reactions.

"Maybe we should kick this up a notch. I want to hear you scream," the man grinned wickedly as he nicked her shoulder. As blood started to seep out of the wound he made three more small nicks in her skin and pulled away slightly to admire his work.

"I knew you would look good in red," the man said with almost childlike glee as he continued his ministrations until he felt satisfied with his work. He was about to say something more when he noticed that she hadn't once made a sound, hadn't flinched once even after cutting her and when he looked into her eyes, he saw a burning hatred that at first delighted him, but then angered him because he figured all his "works of art" seemed to enjoy the process.

"Darling, why don't you say something? Don't you love the way this feels?" He questioned as he started running the knife over her skin again.

"As a matter of fact I don't. I can't possibly understand how sick your mind must be if you think I enjoy this," Lucy spat at him as she tried give her best death glare. She could tell by his shocked expression that he hadn't even fathomed that she wouldn't like this and it made her build up her courage to continue. "If you know what's good for you, I suggest you leave me alone." At this, the man cocked his head to the side in interest.

"And why on earth would I stop this?"

"Because," Lucy said as her voice grew louder, "I have some friends that would be pretty pissed at what you are doing to me now."

Natsu paused his late night patrol as he heard an angry woman speak. He perched on a roof overlooking an alleyway to see said woman pushed up forcefully against the side of a building by some guy holding a knife. As he picked up more of the conversation, he realized pretty quickly that he needed to intervene. Might as well make a grand entrance he thought to himself with a wry smirk.

"Good evening sir and madam," Natsu said as he hopped down off the roof and landed with a soft thud. "It seems that the lady isn't having a very good time of it sir. I suggest you stop now."

"Hey! This catch is mine!" The man with the knife screeched childishly. "Go get your own woman. I found her fair and square!"

Natsu tsked and shook his head mournfully. "I'm sorry sir but you're going to have to let the lady go if she doesn't want to be with you. You should know that's the common courtesy on dates. I guess you'll have to chalk this date up to a failure. Miss, if you would come with me...?"

"She's not going anywhere!" The attacker snarled as he sunk the small blade into the woman's flesh again; this time nearly to the bone in her thigh. Natsu heard the woman suck in a sharp breath and briefly flicked her eyes over to him in panic.

"Sir, I'm going to ask you nicely one more time to step away from this woman. If you refuse I feel that I must warn you that you might not like the consequences," Natsu tried calmly one last time. He really didn't want to leave behind a trail if he didn't have to.

"There's no way in Hell I'm going to give her up so you can just-"

The man's reply was cut off by a right hook to the face, sending him sprawling away from the frightened woman and further into the alley. Natsu straightened his jacket and felt his eyes burn as he squared off with his opponent. He popped his neck and rolled his shoulders to relieve some of the overwhelming tension building up in his body.

"You are disrupting my work!" The would-be attacker screeched as he held his jaw and pointed the knife at Natsu. "Because of your insolence, you will die!" With that outburst, the man hurled himself at Natsu swinging his small knife around wildly.

Natsu almost smirked as he caught the man's wrist with his left hand and forced his head down with a swift kick. As the man's body bounced slightly off the pavement, Natsu shifted his body just slightly and caught the defenseless man in the stomach with another kick that sent him flying into the alley wall. Painful sounds were registered in Natsu's ears as the man hit the wall and then slumped to the ground.

Lucy watched the man in all black, including a black hood, quickly deal with her would-be attacker with fear and awe. She was frozen in place; her body working against her mind, against any movement save for scarce breathing. Lucy even thought that her heart skipped a beat or five as her eyes tried to keep up with the lightning-fast movements of the man currently saving her. It was like watching some predatory beast gracefully taking down a kill, leaving her completely breathless. She felt torn between wanting to stay and continue to watch this predator continue his hunt, and feeling her mind scream at her to run far, far away.

"Hey there..." Lucy's savior said as he turned away from her unconscious attacker to face her. Lucy, despite knowing full well of the danger, started laughing hysterically at the ridiculous greeting; she was completely unable to do anything else.

"You wiped the concrete with some would-be serial killer and that's how you greet me?" She cried as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you for your help. I think if it's not too much trouble, I'm gonna go now."

"You're laughing at me?" The man asked incredulously as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Actually," the man said as he rubbed the back of his... hood... and his body posture changed from a strong stance to a slightly less sure one. "You're going to have to come with me... I can't leave you here now that you've seen me." At this Lucy's spine stiffened. She was just freed from an attacker, she didn't want to be slave to another one.

"Eh?!" Lucy exclaimed. "What do you mean I have to come with you? I just wanna go home and forget that this night never happened! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"It's not that you've done anything wrong, it's just that your life is now in danger because you saw me. I just wanna make sure that I didn't save your life to just have it snuffed out soon afterwards..." the man trailed off.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Are you some type of spy or something? There's no way I-" Lucy cut off as she finally started feeling the effects of her blood loss, collapsing in an ungracious heap next to the alley wall.

"At the very least, you need some medical attention. I don't think you're going to get anywhere by yourself in the shape you're currently in," the man said wryly as he walked over and crouched by her. "I'm going to make sure your wounds have stopped bleeding before I move you, okay? Oh, this gash looks pretty deep, I'm going to have to bandage it. Do you have any spare cloth?" Lucy shook her head, slowly feeling the pain wash over her now that her adrenaline ebbed away.

"Dammit. Guess I don't have much of a choice then," the man muttered. He quickly straightened up and removed his jacket and hood.

"P-pink?!" Lucy exclaimed as she eyed the man's hair. She watched as light pink spikes defied gravity atop his head, which made her wonder how his hood didn't seem lumpy from all of the hair. As her eyes travelled down his face, she made note of slanted eyes that looked the color of obsidian in the lack of light with thick, long eyelashes that a camel would envy, and lips that were pressed into a thin line as he frowned at her. She also saw that he had high cheekbones and dark skin that hinted of eastern ancestry and a strong jaw line that practically begged to be touched.

"Hello? Chick, you kinda zoned out on me. I thought that you had passed out for a second," the man said as he looked slightly relieved before his face settled back into a frown. "My hair is salmon, for future reference. A man saves your life and all you can think to do is laugh at me and then comment on my hair color. You certainly are a weirdo."

"What?" Lucy almost shrieked in outrage as she started to sit up but winced and sat back against the wall. "You've gotta be kidding me. First you come in, dropping off a freaking roof for goodness sake! And beat that guy," she pointed at the would-be attacker, "to a pulp in less than a minute. Now you're saying that since I've seen you, I don't even know you, have to 'come with' you to Mavis knows where and expect me to do so willingly with no questions asked. Oh hell no!"

"Sorry, that's just the policy," the man said as he chuckled lowly. Lucy took a moment to admire the baritone tone of his voice before she realized what she was doing and quickly shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. "Look, I'm sorry how this turned out, I really am, but I'm going to have to take you with me; at the very least, you need medical attention. By the way, what's your name? I don't wanna have to keep callin' ya 'chick' or 'girl' for the duration of this trip."

Lucy puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and glowered at him. After she was satisfied that he got the message, she released a sigh and ran a hand through her silky blonde hair.

"My name is Lucy. Do I have the pleasure of learning your name?" Her question came out slightly sarcastically. At her attempt to unnerve the man, he chuckled again and broke into a grin that showed off his pearly white... Fangs? This guy had fangs?! Who the hell filed their canines down into legitimate fangs?

"Nice 'ta meet'cha Luigi! My name's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."