Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail!

Call Me Maybe?

Chapter 2: Just a Weirdo and... her Barista Boyfriend?

That day, I was just a girl falling for her Starbucks' barista.

It'd been a little over a month since I gave Natsu that note. A month since I realized things like this actually happened in real life. Because, even a month after, it still felt like a dream.

Sitting at my regular table at my favorite Starbucks, I smiled up and saw my favorite barista working from behind the counter. I now noticed how he didn't give out that silly grin and toothy smile to other customers. No, those were only for me. And I loved that.

Tapping my pen on my notebook, I hummed happily as I watched him, falling for him every week a little more. He was funny, way too funny. He made me laugh at the randomest things. He wasn't the brightest guy, but I didn't care about that. I loved that I could be myself with him and laugh all night long.

Our first date was a little awkward, to be quite honest. At least it had been at first. But most first dates usually are.

He had picked me up at my apartment and we had gone for dinner. At first, I was pretty quiet, which was really out of character for myself, but I had been so nervous. My heart was beating so loud and fast I couldn't take it. And it hadn't helped that he had looked so good with a button up and dark jeans and a silly scarf (that he had worn to all our dates thus far) and that really, only he could make it look so good.

Dinner had worked for us to get to know each other. At first it seemed like small talk, learning each other's likes and dislikes. But by the end of the night, we were talking like we had known each other for so long. I felt so comfortable with him. And it helped a lot that he made me laugh so much.

We stayed at the restaurant almost until closing hour, and even by then, neither of us seemed to want our date night to end just quite yet.

So, Natsu slowed his pace as we approached his car and gave me a goofy smile. "Would I be totally crazy if I'd ask to take you out to a movie right now?"

And I couldn't stop the huge smile, my cheeks burning as I shook my head, happines overwhelming me at the thought of him enjoying my company as much as I enjoyed his.

So, that's how we ended up at the movie theater, catching a late night movie. I'd been nervous at first, awkwardly sitting next to him, munching on some popcorn to distract myself from overthinking anything. There were plenty of couples sitting around us, guys wrapping their arms around their girlfriends while they laid their heads on their shoulders.

I watched them and sighed before I stealed a glance up at Natsu, who had been happily munching on his popcorn, watching the movie. I must have been looking too long because his eyes quickly found mine and I blushed a bright red before looking back down at my lap.

But then, I felt him wrap his arm around me and my eyes widened, looking up to catch his dark green eyes on mine. He didn't say anything, only gave me my favorite toothy smile and I smiled back at him, my cheeks flushing with color as I moved closer to him and layed my head on his shoulder.

He didn't drop me off at my apartement until close to midnight. We both stood outside my apartment door, making fun of the cheesy romantic movie we had just watched. We both seemed to agree on how unrealistic romantic movies actually were. But deep down, I couldn't help wondering (and romanticising) if the way we had met could have been straight out of a hollywood movie, or at least one of the many romance novels I hid from Levy's prying eyes.

"I really enjoyed myself tonight." Natsu told me, making my breath hitch as I stared up at him.

My eyes widened as I watched him give me my favorite toothy smile, my cheeks blushing a dark red as I continued staring at him. Blinking my eyes down at my shoes, I couldn't help smiling as I nodded my head. "Yeah… I did too."

We both stood there quietly, and very much awkwardly, as neither of us seemed to know what to do or say next. So, without thinking (as that would give me an out to overthink my actions) I walked up to him and tiptoed to reach his cheek. It was fast, my heart almost beating out of my chest as I realized I had just kissed his cheek. I thought I was going to faint as I stepped back and watched him blink his eyes down at me.

My eyes widened as I realized it was just the first date and maybe too soon? Or maybe I had jumped to conclusions too fast? Maybe he wasn't interested? Or he just wanted to be friends?

My mind was exploiting with different thoughts and just my usual anxiety and me overthinking every situation. So, with blushed cheeks and wide eyes I yelled out (or more like squealed), "Well, thank you. I had fun. Goodnight!"

And quickly turned on my heels to try and escape this very awkward situation and enter my apartment. But he stopped me before I could make my escape.

I looked back to stare at his hand that had held onto my arm and then slowly turned to look up at his face. I blinked my eyes as I noticed his blushed cheeks. He was embarrassed?

His eyes widened, as if just realizing what had just happened. He let go of my arm and stepped back, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I'm not very good at the whole dating thing." He finally spoke, looking to the side before catching my wide eyes. His cheeks seemed to redden at that and he looked down at his shuffling feet before muttering, "But I think I really like you." He glanced up to see my reaction then and my eyes widened.

I stood there, just staring at him. I blinked my eyes at him as those words kept repeating in my head. So, I really wasn't making everything up? Was it real? He liked me?

"I…" I started and then looked down, not being able to stop the huge grin that took form on my lips or the giggles that seemed to escape next. And he raised an eyebrow at that.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to make fun of you." I quickly reassured him. He blinked his eyes and I continued, "You're just very forward. A guy has never said that to me on the first date. So, I'm just shocked, surprised really." I chuckled, rubbing my forearm as I watched him.

He chuckled then, stepping up to me before he whispered, "Well, it's the truth. I really like you. I have for a while now." And, without giving me a chance to respond, he lowered his face, gently pressing his lips to mine.

His lips had been soft, much softer than I had imagined for so long now. I had day dreamed about this moment so many times while I tried (but obviously failed) to concentrate on my homework while I studied at my favorite Starbucks.

My face felt like it had been on fire, my cheeks burning and my whole body becoming ultrasensitive to Natsu's touch. Before I had known it, however, it was over. Natsu's head slowly pulled away from mine and backed up. It had happened much too quickly, and ended far too soon for my liking (bad Lucy, bad!). I flushed at my thoughts and blinked up at Natsu as I tried to understand what had just happened.

Giving me my favorite toothy smile, Natsu broke the awkward silence as he bashfully stepped back and rubbed his neck. "Shit, sorry. I know it's the first date and I mean, I may be reading into this all wrong, and maybe you don't like me like that but-"

I had watched him as he rambled away, my smile widening a little more with every word before I decided to stop him, by initiating the kiss myself this time.

I tugged him down to my level and pressed my lips against his. The kiss was again short and sweet. I had never kissed a guy on the first date, and much less initiated the kiss this soon. I usually liked to wait until the second or third date for that. But here I was, kissing a boy with pink hair, the boy I had been crushing on for the last month.

When the kiss was over, I quickly looked away to avoid his eyes, my face flushing and my heart racing even more than it had before.

"Thanks again for the date. I had a lot of fun." I sputtered, blushing even more. "A-and I like you too."

When I looked up, Natsu was beaming at me. Before I coud say anything more, he had already cupped my face and leaned down to capture my lips once more. This one was longer, and the kind of kiss I would have definitely not gone for on the first date, but it did not feel wrong at all. It felt just right. And my world was swirling in that very second, with Natsu's hands cupping my face and pulling me closer.

By the time Natsu broke the kiss, my knees felt like they were about to give out and I blinked my eyes up at him as he smiled widely down at me. "So, how about a second date this Friday?"

I smiled back. "I'd like that."

And a handful of dates later, I was still enjoying myself with him. The butterflies were still fluttering in my stomach every time he smiled at me and kissed me. I liked him a lot.

I tapped my pen against my lips as I looked up from my books and towards Natsu behind the counter. Everything was going great but… I had no idea what we were. He hadn't asked me to be his girlfriend or even tried to bring the conversation up about what we were. Sighing, I looked down to my notes as I scribbled away my thoughts.

Looking back up at Natsu, I bit down on my lip, almost painfully, as I considered bringing the conversation up. I shook my head and sighed. No, I should just let things play out on their own, right? I sighed again.

Before I could continue overthinking my life, whispers and giggles on the table right next to mine distracted me. I glanced over to see a couple of girls giggling. Raising an eyebrow, I followed their gaze and my eyes landed on a pair of very familiar deep green eyes. My heart skipped a beat when Natsu caught me staring and grinned my favorite toothy smile. I blushed a deep red and smiled back, looking down at my notes as I shook my head and giggled.

However, I couldn't help glancing at the girls again. They were giggling again, whispering loud enough for me to hear. "Do you think he caught us staring? He's cute, huh? Should I just go for it?"

My eyes widened as I finally realized they were actually talking about Natsu. I looked over at them again, blinking my eyes as I watched them. They looked young, probably still in high school. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me then as I watched a few more of their friends come over and tease the girl about her 'crush.'

"He's way older than us, you do realize that? Plus, he has pink hair. That's just weird." One of the boys told her and I smiled down at my notes, looking up to stare at their topic of conversation, who was currently organizing the counter, and stealing glances my way and failing to do so discreetly. I laughed as I watched him and I could see him grinning behind the cake pops he was currently organizing.

"Alright, I'm gonna go for it!" The young girl declared, standing up from her seat and heading towards the counter. My smile widened as I watched her walk over to the counter and order her drink. I cupped my cheek and couldn't help remember how just a month ago, that had been me.

However, this time around Natsu wasn't smiling nearly as much as he had with me, and he didn't give her that toothy grin I adored.

"Idiot." The boy muttered then, getting chastised by one of the girls. I smiled as I noticed the frown on the boy's face as he watched the girl, who clearly was his crush.

The girl was soon walking back to her group, a frown on her face as she shook her head as she approached them. "He probably has a girlfriend." She mumbled. That made me frown. No, not a girlfriend. Just me… Whatever we were...

"Or he doesn't go for high school girls. As he should." The boy rolled his eyes and her frown deepened.

I finally broke away from eavesdropping when my phone buzzed next to my books. Picking up my phone, I couldn't help the huge smile from winning over from the text Natsu had just sent me.

'Shouldn't you be studying? You look cute when you're doing that. It's extremely distracting.'

Looking up, I caught a pair of very familiar green eyes on me and he grinned widely at me before going to the backroom. I couldn't help the silly grin, shaking my head as I looked down at my notes.

The butterflies fluttering in my stomach, however, didn't help much in my lame attempt to actually get some homework done.

Sighing, I bit my bottom lip as I struggled with my thoughts. I was worried and I didn't exactly know why. Maybe it was my friends constent questions about what we were or my anxiety or maybe it was just that I was so happy that I wanted to tell my mother? But what was he? What would've I even say when she asked (cause she most definitely was going to ask).

Or maybe they were all just excuses and I just needed to enjoy what we had for what it was and not overthink it.

Looking down at my notes, I nodded to myself at my own thoughts. Yes, I needed to stop overthinking. It never leads to anything good. Everything was good, right? There was nothing to worry about…

"Doesn't look like you've gotten much of that essay done today."

I snapped my head up, only to see Natsu grinning that toothy smile of his that made my heart beat oh so hard. My cheeks flushed with color as I nervously closed my notebook and sheepishly smiled up at him.

"You're extremely distracting as well. And it doesn't help that you're not discrete at all when it comes to checking out a girl." I winked then, making him burst out laughing just as he began to sit at the stool in front of mine.

Nodding his head, Natsu's grin only widened as he caught my eyes, a teasing glint in his dark green eyes. "Well, I'll admit I suck at that. Haven't had much practice. And you're way too pretty."

My eyes widened as I watched him. He continued on with what he had been doing, which had been bringing two muffins and drinks and setting them on the table.

"Got you blueberry, I know it's your favorite." He told me as he placed my favorite muffin in front of me followed by my favorite drink - a passion tea, of course.

I blinked my eyes down at the stuff he had gotten and then heard him continue, "Damn, stupid Laxus is already texting me if I can work Saturday. But no worries, I already told him that's my day with you. I have this really cool date idea! I wanna show you my favorite part of town."

Natsu flashed me his signature toothy smile then and I felt like my cheeks were lit on fire. My heart was thumping madly on my chest.

I was falling for this goof and he didn't even realize the effect he had on me. I knew it was all small things, things he was doing without thinking twice about but they were thoughtful and they made me feel all giddy and happy.

Flushing, I took a deep breath as I tried to calm my beating heart and reached out to hold Natsu's hand, making him stop. He raised an eyebrow as he watched me, gulping loudly as he finished his muffin while mine laid in front of me, still untouched.

"I really like you." My eyes widened as soon as the words left my mouth. My cheeks flushed a dark red as I found Natsu's wide eyes on mine. He blinked down at me before grinning widely and shaking his head.

"I know, weirdo." His grin almost took my breath as I watched him, his head slightly slanted to the side as he watched me.

My eyes widened more if possible, making him break out in laughter once I yelled out, "If anyone's weird, it's you!"

I tried pulling my hand from his but he stopped me, holding tightly onto my hand and interlocking our fingers as he grinned down at me. "I like you a lot too. But, I mean, that's pretty obvious."

He grinned widely down at me as I rolled my eyes and 'mhmd,' making him bark out another laugh.

"So, how about I help with that essay? Cause at this point you're never gonna finish it." He winked at me, leaning forward and over the table.

He tried to kiss me then and I inched closer, close enough to whisper (and of course tease him) next to his lips, "Stop distracting me then. And maybe then you can read it and give your input after." I winked at him then as I moved back to my stool and watched him frown in disappointment.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Natsu hid his mouth behind his scarf and mumbled, "I won't make any promises about reading it all, but we both know it's gonna be great with or without my input." I felt my face flush and he then shrugged. "What I will promise is that I'm getting my kiss after you finish."

Smiling widely at him, I shrugged. "Yeah, we'll see about that." And I couldn't help the laughs once his eyebrows arched and he groaned in annoyance.

A few hours later, we were walking out of Starbucks hand in hand as Natsu walked me to my car. Stopping next to my blue convertible beetle, Natsu rubbed the back of his neck as he complained about his busy shift at work.

Staring up at him, watching the moon's light reflect on his messy pink hair and toned arms I couldn't stop the butterflies or loud thumps of my heart.

"Hey Natsu…" I mumbled at the ground, stopping Natsu immediately and making my eyes widen. I wanted to ask what we were. Because I was falling for him, faster than I should've and it was beginning to scare me. Because that meant I could get hurt and well…

"Something wrong, Lucy?" Natsu's concerned voice broke me out of my thoughts and I snapped my head up to catch Natsu's worried eyes.

I swallowed hard before shaking my head. "It's nothing. I just…" I sighed loudly and he raised an eyebrow, stepping up to me and gently brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear, my heat threatening to jump right out of my chest. His hand then fell onto my cheek and I leaned into it, my eyes closing as I enjoyed the feeling of his warm hand on my check. "I… it's nothing important. Don't worry about it."

I needed to just enjoy this. I felt safe with him. He cared and that's all that mattered. I needed to enjoy the moment and not overthink everything. Why did I always need to jump to conclusions and think I would end up hurt? Well… I hadn't been too wrong.

"Of course I'm worried about my girl. I want us to be open about everything, Lucy."

My eyes opened immediately as he said those words. I blinked up at him as I caught his intense gaze. "Y-your girl?" I finally sputtered.

Natsu blinked down at me, clearly confused. "Well yeah, duh. You're my girlfriend."

"Wh-what?!" I sputtered, my cheeks flushing from both shock, confusion and little annoyance. "I-idiot! You need to ask! That's how it's supposed to-"

I wasn't even able to finish my rant when Natsu lowered his head and pressed his lips firmely against mine. The kiss was over before I could respond or push him off or react in any sort of way. My eyes were still wide even after the kiss ended. I blinked my dry eyes up at Natsu as he grinned boyishly down at me.

Shrugging, Natsu finally spoke, "I told you, I'm not really good at the whole dating thing." I rolled my eyes and sighed and he chuckled at my reaction. "But if I have to ask…"

I nodded my head almost furiously, making him crack out a bark of laughter.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Lucy?"

Smiling widely up at him, I tugged Natsu down to my levels and pressed my lips against his. I couldn't help the silly grin as I kissed him. I felt like the luckiest girl that night. Maybe fairy tale's did exist? Maybe this goofy idiot was my prince?

Catching Natsu's dark green eyes, I couldn't help shaking that thought away as I caught the mischievous glint in his eyes just as he picked me up in his arms, making me squeal in surprise. No, he was far from a prince. But, I was still falling for him. He was perfect for me. Or… at least he had been in that very second.

Running my fingers through his messy pink hair and hugging my arms around his neck as he held me in his arms, I inched closer to his lips and whispered, "I would love to be your girlfriend."

And he grinned my favorite toothy smile just before he pressed his lips to mine.

When I got home, all I wanted was to go to bed and get some sleep and dream about my favorite pink haired boy. But that thought was completely off the table once I entered my apartment.

Sighing, I crossed my arms over my chest as soon as my eyes landed on a pair of very familiar deep blue eyes.

"I sometimes hate that Levy gave you a spare key to our apartment." I mumbled and Gray - my childhood best friend - grinned lazily at me, turning back to watch the TV in our living room.

"Lies and more lies. If she hadn't, you would've." And I rolled my eyes, because he was right. But still, he almost practically lived here sometimes.

Dropping lazily onto the spot next to him on the couch, I muttered, "Yeah, maybe."

Glancing back at me, he stared for a second before stating, "You've been hanging out with pink boy a lot."

My cheeks flushed with color by just the thought of Natsu, and I reached out for some chips, more so to hide my face from Gray. "Well, yeah. He's my boyfriend." I shrugged and I could feel Gray's eyes on me but chose not to turn to him.

I ignored the silence that proceeded then as I repeated what I had just stated in my head. Boyfriend. It was both weird and exciting calling Natsu that. And it made my stomach fill with butterfly sensations.

"I don't like him."

I finally turned to Gray and rolled my eyes. "Surprise, surprise. You don't like any of the guys I date."

"Yeah, cause they're all idiots." He shrugged nonchalantly, and I glared at him.

Standing up, I sighed and yelled out, "I'm going to bed!"

"What?! I came over to watch some movies with you!"

But I ignored him. And I regret doing so. Because Gray was always right. And this time, it wasn't any different.

Author's Note:

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