Hello, Author here! I apologize; I actually wrote this chapter two weeks ago but being the perfectionist I am I had to edit like crazy and change a million things. But its here, so please enjoy!

Disclaimer

I do not own Fairy Tail; the plot is my own.

Lucy stood in the middle of her closet, water dripping off her body into the floor. She had just finished her bath and abandoned the idea of a towel, seeing as Natsu had not slept over. When he was around the idea of privacy was all but forgotten. Her hair clung to her back and neck, making her shiver whenever a rivulet of water slid down her back.

The clothes on the racks stayed motionless, mocking her with many choices. It was always like this when she had somewhere actually important to go to. Not dance clubs, nor any parties or get to togethers with her friends. This was something that she considered life changing. Who would have known she would make such a chance? Even though it was in the daze of excitement; riding the wave of encouragement from her best friends.

Lucy sighed heavily and crossed her arms, turning in a slow circle around the closet. This outfit needed to be sexy but very casual. Casual was something she had mastered years ago, but to make it look appealing too? That was a challenge. Her eyes were traveling through each shirt and jeans she owned, when her eyes landed on a pair of cute booties she had literally never worn.

Levy had thrown a fit when they came across these while shopping out one day. She said it would look killer with the outfit she had bought at another store. Lucy's eyes widened as she twirled around, eyes landing on the very outfit. She walked up to it and pushed all the other clothes out of the way, hands shaking. This was the outfit. A beige sweater, slightly oversized that had a habit of hanging off her shoulders. She had worn it around the house a couple of times, afraid to walk out in it in fear of getting looks from people.

Her eyes traveled lower down, a grin stretching across her face. These jeans were sexy, in the way of hugging the hell out of the wearer's ass and hips. That wasn't even her favorite thing about them; the embroidered sign on the left thigh made her grin a full smile. The Fairy Tail insignia of the dance club lay there in bright pink. The sign of the only people she felt she could call actual family.

In her excitement she yanked down the shirt and yelped when a box fell down from behind the outfit, its contents tumbling out. In the mess lay a bracelet she remembered all too well. Slowly and gingerly she picked it up and smiled sadly. It brought back many memories, none of which were good, in a way. Squinting her eyes, she took the bracelet and clothes with her and walked out of her closet.

She stopped when her eyes found the clocks hateful glare. It was 40 minutes before her class started.

"Are you kidding me?!" Lucy made a mad dash to the bathroom, almost slipping on the water still lingering in the floor. She looked at herself in the mirror and groaned loudly. It took her at least 20 minutes to get ready, but to get to the school she would need 30.

"I can do this!"

She might not be good at anything else, but one of her talents lay with being late. She could drop a good look in minimal time. She lunged for the blow dryer and turned it on low. Grabbing a towel she dried off the rest of her body and then threw on the clothes as quick as she could; she would worry about the actual look later. Right now, her biggest concern was her face. Thank Mavis for make-up.

Nastu slung his bag over his shoulder, slamming his car door. Yawning loudly, he rubbed his eyes as he began to walk up to the school's front doors. The loud chatter and squealing from the new freshman girls made his ears ring annoyingly. His shoulders sagged, the girls laughter reminding him of a certain blonde haired woman.

Woman being the right term; Lucy didn't see herself as such, but he certainly could. Any man in his right mind would obviously see it. She was beautiful, and he couldn't keep that fact from invading his mind over and over again of late. His head lifted up as he turned around before taking the steps up to the school, his gaze swept over the parking lot and frowned.

She would probably be late of course. His heart seemed to tighten in worry, she wasn't in the best shape when he left her at her place last night. Although he could tell she had fun, the hue of her skin and the twitchiness her body exhibited made him wonder if taking her out to their dance club and letting her smoke was a bad idea. He knew it messed with the 'cycle' she had made for herself since starting a new medication. No drinking or smoking of any kind. Though, out of all the years he'd known her, he had not seen her drink once. Smoking was always the one thing she was drawn too. One fact he will never like about her character.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he dug his phone out of his back pocket and unlocked it only to find no messages or missed calls. There was usually a few from her at least every day; they were like glue, always with each other.

"It's unbecoming of you to have that expression, Natsu. Are you worried about Lucy?" Natsu spun around to see Erza and Jellal walking up the steps to his side. Huffing, he put away his phone and crossed his arms.

"Why would I be? She can take care of herself. If she even knew I was worried she bite off my head.." Jellal chuckled and gave him a knowing stare. Jellal, like Lucy, was very intuitive. A damn annoying talent.

"It's perfectly fine to be worried, you know. Especially since this will be her first time in a school environment after so long. But like you said, she can take care of herself." Natsu caught the underlying hint in his voice and frowned.

After the first try at college, Lucy swore off it and tried sticking it out with making herself known by herself. She stated she didn't need a paper telling her she was good at what she loved. But we all knew the real reason she dropped out so suddenly.

"Hey, guys! You do know class is about to start in 5 minutes, right?" He turned to find his childhood friend, Lisanna, trotting up the steps to him. He smiled at her, the worry leaving his face. The only other girl who could do that was..

"Where's Lucy? Knowing her she's probably going to be late the first day." Another member joined them on the stairs, in all his glory. Natsu rolled his eyes at his attire.

"Freed, it's not even that cold yet. You're making me sweat just looking at you." He hooked his finger in his shirt collar and pulled, showing his 'discomfort.' The man was always seen in what looked like heavy layers of clothes, and an ascot. It's like a part of him. I wonder if he ever washes it..

"That's funny coming from you, you burn hotter than normal anyhow. More like a furnace if you ask me." Lisanna waved him away, making Natsu gasp in fake hurt.

"I'll have you know the ladies love it, especially after a good time, ya know? They need something warm and sexy to cuddle up too." He put his arms around his head and smiled, making his shirt ride up and show a bit of toned stomach.

"Natsu! No one wants to know what you do with your free time. Unless it's something actually productive. And what happened to your other shirts? I remember Lucy getting you some that fit." Natsu slouched and pouted heavily.

"She wasn't there to remind me this morning! She hasn't even texted or called me either." He began to whine slightly.

"Okay, seriously guys. I'm going in because I actually want to be here. You coming Freed?" Lisanna smiled at them and walked away with Freed following quietly behind her.

"I'm heading in as well, see you guys at lunch." Jellal walked into the school with Erza behind him, but not without leaving behind a deadly glare that clearly said, 'Hurry the hell up.'

Natsu narrowed his eyes warily and slowly trudged up the stairs and entered the school. Casting one look over his shoulder. She better hurry up herself..

Lucy was running along the sidewalk, dodging and twirling people in her way. Her heart was beating in sync with the loud taps her feet made while running. Stores and stands passed alongside her vision in a blur, only one destination in mind. Well, counting the school made it two.

"How could I have forgotten school supplies? It should have been the first thing on my mind! Stupid, stupid, stupid.."

Her not so quiet grumbling bringing more attention to her than she would have liked, she finally skidded to a stop in front of store known for its good prices and over stock of school supplies. Her chest heaved to suck in much needed oxygen as she walked into the store, frantic.

Not getting things done as soon as possible bothered the hell out of her, which greatly contradicted the fact that she was a protagonist with many tasks in her everyday life. Taking a short second to slightly calm herself, she walked stiffly over to the cashier at the front and leaned over the counter.

"Where are the school supplies?" Lucy stared into the face of the young man and quirked an eyebrow when a huge blush bloomed across his face. He hesitantly pointed towards the row to their right and over.

"O-over there, ma'm.." Lucy leaned back with a grateful look.

"Thank you!" Without waiting for a reply or a gesture, she dashed off to the back and took inventory on all the basics she would need today, leaving the more hefty things for later. Grabbing folders, pencils and journals she ran back up the cashier and basically threw them on the counter.

"This is all! How much would it be?" Digging around in her purse she drew out a twenty dollar bill and held it up, waiting for his response. When it didn't come she took more notice into his expression.

Following his gaze, she squeaked in alarm. Her sweater was falling off of her left shoulder, leaving her creamy skin exposed. Embarrassed and frustrated she slapped the twenty on the counter and grabbed everything in her hands.

"K-keep the change!" Again, without waiting for a reply she ran out of the store into the slight chill of the early morning. Without a seconds hesitation she began her trek to the school. By the huffing her breath and the quickening of her heartbeat, entering into the classroom would cause commotion. So much for a quiet and sneaky entrance.

His ears twitched as he heard the doors squeak and slam shut behind him. Slowing to a stop after a few steps into the college, he leaned back and put his hand in his pocket. Navy blue eyes took in his surroundings at pace associated with caution. His other hand tensed up around his briefcase when he noticed the cost was clear.

Deciding it was safe, he began his path to his classroom. An unperturbed, wavering cold surrounded his posture and even acted like it was affecting the area around him as he turned the corner. His gait was slow and lethal, as if he was on a mission to hunt down prey. He passed under the air conditioner vent, causing his dark black, almost blue hair to lift and sway.

It lay in lazy angles, no definite pattern to its design. His bangs fell into his face, almost covering his left eye. As he was walking, something in the corner of his vision brought him to a stop. A closed door to his right had been recently shined to perfection, making it an ideal mirror.

He took in his appearance with no indifference or acceptance. The way he looked no longer affected his mood in anyway, although seeing himself in reflections always caused some sort of curiousness in his mind; raising questions he never knew the answer to too the surface. Is this how he always looked every minute of the day? Why did his hair look so soft yet so wild? Did the suit he was wearing compliment his lean body at all?

He brought his hand out of his pocket and brought it up to shift through his hair, causing his whole face to come into view. His eyebrows creased together slightly as even more of his appearance came to light. Did his eyes always look so dead and dangerous? His pinky slowly shifted and brushed over a pale scar above his left eyebrow.

This scar brought many emotions to the forefront of his mind. Some he still didn't know who to deal with after many years following the event that caused it. After a second more of taking himself in, his hand fell to his side and he turned away from the mirror like door, only to find himself face to face with a..

"Yes..?"

The man in front of him raised an eyebrow, the paleness and shock in his face fading to what looked like irritation. "Do you always stare at yourself in public? You know they have bathrooms for that, right? You're blocking the hallway."

He raised an eyebrow at the man's tone; or teenager? He wasn't sure as too the age of the person in front of him, all he really dared to take in was the tone of annoyance and the… pink hair.

His hand came up again, only to point to his left to the all but scarce and empty hallway.

"I'm only one person. There's plenty of room left for anyone else to walk by. What stopped you from doing just that, eh?" He watched as the boy.. no, man in front of him drew back slightly at his tone.

"It doesn't matter why I stopped! But why wouldn't I when a weird ass person is staring at himself in a reflection? I thought I would at least see if you were alright, you looked dazed for a sec- Hey! Don't walk away from me when I'm talking!"

Stopping his walk, he turned around slowly and frowned, beginning to get frustrated. "I have a class to get too. So please if you'd like to continue your interesting conversation, I'm sure the lockers would love to hear the rest of your story." Turning back around, he took just a couple steps before the man was in front of him again. This spiked emotion into him he hadn't felt in a while. Annoyance!

"Would you stop walking off for just a second? The real reason I stopped you.. well, you just reminded me of someone from a long time ago, is all. It actually kind of surprised me for a second, so I thought I'd get your name."

He raised his eyebrows at the odd way of questioning, but if it would make him go away and leave him alone he'd be more than happy to answer! "My name is Gray Fullbuster. And to put this… 'issue' to rest, I don't recognize you at all. Sorry."

He would remember someone that had pink hair for sure. "Fullbuster huh? Well I suppose you aren't him, then. Ah well, thanks. See ya later!"

Gray watched him retreat and sighed heavily. His mind slowly came to the same stillness it was at before the interruption of its serenity. The man left without even giving his name in return; which didn't bother him one bit in the hopes of not hearing or seeing him too much in the future. Though in all the encounter didn't sit well with him, only for the fact that there might be a possibility he did meet him before. But with the problem of not knowing his name or anything else about him, his mind came to a dead end. Which greatly annoyed him.

He sighed again, running his hand through his hair for the tenth time since waking up. Why did they began bickering in the first place? He began walking down the hallway, taking a left while rolling the events of the last few minutes over his was an interesting start to the new school year. His mind shut off then, and careened into a comforting, but dead silence. It was ruined when the bell rang; causing him to tense quickly. Fixing his suit from nonexistent wrinkles, he started off at a faster pace. He couldn't be late to class. He was the professor after all.

Lucy caught herself on the door handles of the school and wretched them open. When she heard the click behind her of them closing, she started to count backwards from ten as she made her way to the huge stairs to her immediate right. By any indication of her forgetting literally everything she actually needed, she did manage to remember what and where her first class was. Second floor, class 3-2.

She looked at the clock as she turned onto the second set of stairs and almost collapsed. She was 15 minutes late. Fifteen!

Hopefully the teacher lived up to her image of the first day of school; going over rules and guidelines while getting acquainted with students. Forgetting the image of calm, she rushed the door as soon as her foot touched the second floor. With each loud and regretful click of her boots, she begged her entrance to be quiet and unnoticeable.

She slowed down when she realized she was already in the classroom. Her arms tightened and brought everything closer to her chest when she realized her pencils were slipping. And she bit her lip tightly when she realized that her sweater was falling off her shoulders again.

And when she turned towards the bottom of the lecture hall she froze. Everyone was looking at her; either with boredom or mild curiosity. Some of the students even snickered (not so quietly) at her dishelved appearance. Her heart really started thumping when she took in the glances of appreciation from some of the guys. Could this day start out any worse?

"Are you Ms. Heartfilia?"

She stood straighter, her posture and mind instinctively going into 'proper' mode at the formal tone. She slightly smiled and looked at the person who called her name. But when she made eye contact with the.. man, her knees almost buckled and her breath left her.

Down at the bottom of the auditorium like class room, sat the very image of cocky and egotistical. And he was staring into her soul. "Ah, yes. I am.." She almost wanted to be surprised at how her voice was kept even and confident, when her very core was experiencing the apocalypse. He is kind of sexy though..

"You do realize you are roughly about… 15 minutes late?" He waited for her reply, but all she could muster was a sheepish smile and a simple shrug of her shoulders.

"Bring me your schedule then, Heartfilia." She blinked at the odd use of her last name, but nonetheless began the seemingly long trek down the stairs to his desk. "And leave your school supplies at any empty space on your way."

Oh dear Mavis kill me now! She stopped and slowly turned and looked out, yet again, at the vast ocean of where the hell am I going to put this shit?

"Psst…Lucy!" Her eyes followed the voice and found Natsu waving his hands everywhere trying to get her attention. She almost wanted to cry at the relief that burned through her at seeing a familiar face. Ignoring the reactions from school mates as he passed behind them, she put everything down at her desk and cast a sweet and adoring look over her shoulder before sauntering down the stairs to the desk of the professor. What she did not see was the frozen, red face of Natsu as he watched her descend.

Thank god he's here. She would not feel as confident if he weren't. She wiped her hands on her jeans, and pulled out her schedule from her pocket and froze when she was about to hand it to the teacher, forgetting her earlier nervousness. Wait, I had the schedule in my pocket the whole time?!

"Is this your first college class?" The attractive but off-putting man spoke, and her heart stopped. Oh, there it is.

"Ah, no s-sir. I actually tried a couple of years ago, but it didn't.. quite work the way I wanted it too, you could say." Lucy cursed the heavens above when she noticed her hand shaking at her side. Then wanted to curl up and die when she realized he was standing there with his hand out, waiting for the schedule.

"There's no reason to be so nervous, honestly. All you have to do is sit and listen to me talk about stuff you could learn out of a book. Not that hard." The man winked at her and then looked down at her classes.

While his head was downcast, she took a minute to take a long hard look at his features. Yea, definitely sexy. His bangs were falling over into his eyes; she watched as he shifted to run his hand through his hair, and how he leaned back against his desk. His suit opened slightly and she admired the view she could see of his flat stomach and broad shoulders. Stop right there, Lucy. Look no further.

She brought her hand up and held onto her right arm with it, squeezing her upper arm with a firm grip. Although he was a hottie, he was also a teacher and a total no no zone for her. She swore off men quite a while back and planned to keep it that way. She had basically trained herself to appreciate, but never to reciprocate. Besides, with her little… personal problem, she would never find anybody anyway. Thus, an endless cycle to her love life. Good luck, Cupid.

"It looks like all of your classes are on the second floor this year. I'll be teaching most of your classes except for the last two. This way it'll make it easier on you…"

The man's eyebrow rose slightly when he noticed her expression. She had a grimace of some sort on her face, tinged with confusion and annoyance. Lucy smiled slowly, bringing herself out of her thoughts. "Oh, that's great. Now I just have to figure out which way is left and right, then I'll be peachy."

She grabbed her schedule and stuffed it back in her pockets. When she looked back up she was astounded. He was chuckling at her remark, and his smile reached his eyes in the most alluring way; as if he never smiled in his life.

"Good one, I think they might have labels on the doors this year. You wouldn't be the first one."

Lucy smiled back at him, playing it cool. Cool? More like choking on my spit while trying to breath. Was it this hot in here earlier?

"Heartfilia, I want to apologize for putting you on the spot earlier. I do have to make sure all my students are on time for their classes; first day or not. But seeing as you were in a hurry…"

She glanced back at her space full of random supplies and cringed.

"Then I will excuse you for this one instance, alright? Now, go ahead and head back to your seat. I'm sure your… friend will catch you up."

Lucy was taken back a little at the tone and glance she caught when he spoke about who she assumed was Natsu. Which only meant that they probably already butted heads; Natsu was notorious for doing that with every professor.

"Yes, thank you Mr….?"

The man turned around and smiled that one smile again, extending his hand to her. "Gray Fullbuster. Although you can call me Professor or Mr. Fullbuster, which ever suits you best."

Her mind almost stilled at that name… Fullbuster. It had a ring to it that caused light to shine on part of her memories she never really wanted to remember; although it was a very weak light. I can't quite place that name..

"Lucy Heartfilia.. please, call me Lucy. I prefer that over my last name any day."

When Lucy sat down by Natsu, she realized that the exchange between her and Mr. Fullbuster didn't last but 5 minutes. She was so absorbed in her mind and emotions, time went by at a crawl. Scrunching her eyebrows, her hand mindlessly went up to her ears and she froze.

Her headphones.

"Here, Lucy. I always keep an extra pair with me because you forget them every time you walk out the door, ya know." Natsu pushed over a small pair of earphones and she breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned over slowly as she gathered them into her bag, and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you, Natsu. You don't know how happy I am to see you here right now. I thought I was going to die.."

She leaned back and smiled at him, then quickly tried to rearrange her space. Once she was done, her hand tightly clinched Natsu's earphones in her hand from inside her bag. Without music, she would be a zombie, and if she didn't have a pair of earphones with her, she would surely not make it.

Everything she relies on now is a crutch; a permanent one. She glanced at Natsu from the corner of her eyes and smiled sadly. Even her friends were quickly becoming something she could not live without. If she didn't learn how to cope fast, then she'd end up bringing them all down with her. Which is not an option.

Lucy had been thinking about this for a while now. What would happen if they all left her? If they finally starting moving forward with their future and left her in the dust? She would ultimately be alone, and not even Natsu deserved to stay behind because of her; she loved him too much to drag him through the mud. She wanted him to be happy..

She looked down at the Professor and leaned forward, propping her head up on her hand. Looking at him from this far away made it easier for her to fantasize. Maybe it would be a good idea for her too start.. considering dating again. Lucy rolled the idea around for a minute then scoffed silently. If only..

An elbow to the side brought her attention to her left, where Natsu was looking at her with raised eyebrows. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear. "I thought zoning out was supposed to be my thing."

Lucy rolled her eyes and lightly kicked his shin, smiling at him. She watched as he pushed over a couple papers and blinked at the words there. She leaned over to him, grabbing pencil. He had written down what they had gone over so far before she arrived, and she wanted to hug him for it. "Thanks.. Natsu."

He didn't reply, but leaned back with a smile on his face. She repeated the action and returned his grin. If the butterflies in her stomach were any indication, this school year was going to be interesting. Just the aspect of being in class made her nervous. But hopefully she could learn to cooperate by herself on her own two feet, and enjoying every second with her friends.

At the time, she didn't know that those moments with them might very well be her last.

Hello, and thank you for reading this chapter, feel free to yell and be angry. I did take way too long on it. I edited about a thousand times. A slow kick off to a monstrous fic! It's the slow chapters that get us to the good stuff, so please look forward to the next chapter! Review, tell me your thoughts and what you think ;)

-Kairrie