Just a random thing I'm coming up with as I write it, haha.

"Now, devushki, everyone is ready for the combined number?" Came the shrill voice of Porlyusica in its signature thick Russian accent. Lucy brought her leg down from its stretch on the bar as the other girls gathered around their ballet instructor. Porlyusica glanced over at Lucy and raised her eyebrows.

"Lucy?" She queried, and Lucy stepped forward a bit to join the other girls. Applause for the performance prior to theirs echoed through the theatre, slightly muffled to their ears due to the curtain separating them from the audience. Said curtain was pulled back a bit as the previously mentioned dancers slipped back stage, smelling slightly of perspiration from the tough set.

"Everyone is prepared, da?" The girls all nodded, "Khorosho. Levy, you are first," she gestured to the stage as she held the curtain back. Levy nodded, looking confident despite how nervous Lucy knew she was. Her blue hair was held back by a sheer purple headband to keep it out of her face and match her dress. She rose up on her tippy-toes, the girls behind her following suit. Levy headed out onto stage, followed by an already smiling Juvia in an outfit like Levy's, but in a blue lighter than the girls own hair, which was let down around her shoulders in waves. Next was Ever, in light green; Mira and Lisanna in pink and yellow; Erza in red; Bisca in orange; and Cana in turquoise.

Finally, Lucy stepped out into the light. This recital was featuring her, after all.

Her white tutu was slightly longer than the rest of the girls, with sparkles gradually collecting on the bodice to form a sweetheart neckline at the top. The sleeves were light and soft against her shoulders- which was all that they covered in order to allow her unlimited movement. Her hair was up in a golden bun on top of her head, several strands let down to surround her face enticingly. The crowd was dead silent, as if holding their breath. The first notes of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake finale sang through the air, muted orchestra strings coming in a few measures later. Yes, the number was Swan Lake, and Lucy- was their swan.

They were the last performers of the evening, having made it to the contest by taking a classic ballet and transforming it to an all-girls number, full of precise leaps and pirouettes. The dance featured Lucy, the number one dancer at Madam Porlyusica's Ballet Academy (MPBA) and number five in the country for her age group. She was usually a solo performer, but had joined the group number when her instructor suggested (more like ordered) her to take part in it. To be completely honest, Lucy was the only reason they had come this far- to nationals, that is- and the other girls knew it. Instead of being jealous of her though, they were very supportive and grateful for the opportunity to perform in USA IBC in Jackson, Mississippi. Although they had been dancing just as long as she, Lucy had a natural talent most only dreamed of.

The performance went perfectly, and the applause was deafening. Lucy glanced down the line on her right side at Levy, and they both smiled. They headed backstage as roses were thrown at their feet and the band and orchestra rose for their applause.

"Zamechatel'no!" Cried Porlyusica, which is how the girls knew they did really good- their Madam never praised them. Lucy headed over to Levy and they clasped each other's hands, grinning at sparkles on the other's faces.

"Wow, I don't think we've ever done it that good before," said Lucy excitedly.

Levy nodded enthusiastically, "It was amazing. Especially you- miss perfect Grand Allegro."

Lucy blushed- she had been practicing like crazy to get that right, but still- "It was a group effort. You guys performed perfectly too."

"No, really," a hand was suddenly on Lucy's shoulder, she turned to see Erza looking down at her, "You really out-did yourself tonight. I am confident that our performance could not have gone better."

"Thanks Erza," said Lucy, still blushing. She saw Ever headed her way and internally prepared herself for the insults she knew were coming.

"Lucy," said Ever, lifting her nose haughtily, "I just wanted to tell you that you had a satisfactory presentation."

Lucy blinked. Once. Twice. Had Ever just given her...a complement?

Before she could reply, Ever had turned on her heel and gone to sit down on a leather couch in their area behind the curtain to wait for the competition results. Five minutes later, they lined up n stage with the other performers as the scores were announced. Girls squealed as they were given fifth and seventh place ribbons, the excitement getting higher as the places came closer to first. Levy looked at Lucy nervously. The only place left was first- so it was all or nothing now. The announcer opened the envelope containing the name of the gold winner group, and turned to the audience.

"For the first time," he said loudly, "our IBC winners emerge from the youngest ages allowed at this competition. First place goes to Madam Porlyusica's Dance Academy!"

The audience rose from their seats applauding, obviously pleased with the outcome. The girls around Lucy jumped up and down, hugging, as the Emcee handed Lucy the first place medal for her group. Porlyusica ushered them off the stage after pictures were taken, leading them down the hall to their room set aside for the competitions duration. Joyous laughter was heard as the girls packed up their belongings and headed outside to wait for their rides. It was lucky for them, that MPDA was in the same city as USA IMB, making commute unnecessary and transportation less stressful. Lucy walked with Levy down to the performers parking lot where the latter's boyfriend was waiting.

"Gajeel!" The blue-haired girl cried, racing from Lucy's side and jumping into her boyfriends arms. Lucy smiled and marveled for the millionth time at their relationship. Levy McGarden, the small, petite, ballet devotee, dating Gajeel Redfox, a borderline gangster car mechanic with biceps the size of large grapefruits and a head of hair like shag carpet down to his waist. Not to mention all the piercings and his 6'4'' stature.

Gajeel set Levy down after a long embrace and short (thankfully for Lucy) kiss on the lips. He handed her a bouquet of roses that had been on the hood of his car and she smiled widely, hugging him again. She turned back to Lucy to say farewell.

"Bye Lucy! I'll see you tomorrow!" she called and jumped into the passenger side of her boyfriends hummer. A few other contestants milled around, getting into cars and driving off.

"Nice job, bunny girl," Gajeel said, grinning at Lucy for a moment before turning back to get into his car. Lucy rolled her eyes with a smile. She really didn't get why he called her that- but whatever. As they drove off, Mirajane and Lisanna came up from behind her.

"Hi, Lucy!" Exclaimed Mira cheerily, "Do you need a ride home?"

"Yeah! We can give you one of you need," said Lisanna with a smile. Lucy shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but my dad actually said he could pick me up tonight."

"Okedokie then! Can't turn that down!" Replied Mira, giving a slight wave with her sister before heading off to find their own car. Several conversations similar to this were repeated as the other girls from the competition got picked up by their parents and left. Lucy shivered a bit, the cold finally seeping in through her puffy white coat. The parking lot was nearly empty, only one car remained, and the performance had ended nearly two hours ago. Lucy looked down at her boots. She couldn't help but wonder if she had been forgotten...again.

No, he wouldn't, she thought to herself, he would want to show me off to the world right after we won the big competition, so he wouldn't forget to pick me up...

Would he?

She started to panic a bit, standing up from the bench she been sitting on for over an hour. Tears started to prick her eyes as the fact that she had been forgotten, again, settled in. She was just about to pull out her cell to call for a taxi when something sped past her, knocking her backwards and nearly causing her to fall. Several other 'somethings' sped past her blurred vision, and this time she was knocked down, landing in an undignified heap on the ground. Tears knocked loose from her eyes, and thus clearing her vision for the moment, she looked up to see several skaters rolling off into the distance, laughing boyishly.

"Hey! Guys!" Called a voice from the other direction, "Sting! You knocked someone over!"

Lucy looked up to see a young looking pink-haired guy holding a skateboard walking in her direction while staring after his group of skaters. He shook his head and laughed a little.

"Sorry about them," he said, "They're kind of oblivious when it comes to other people." He glanced down at her finally, curiosity lighting his features as he took in her appearance.

"Woah, what's with the fancy- hey, why are you crying?" He bent down suddenly face to face with her as he sad on his haunches, setting his skateboard to the side.

Lucy cursed her weakness at crying in front of this guy. She had promised herself never to let someone make her cry- and she was doing well too, until those jerk skater guys had knocked her over, breaking what little strength she had. She turned her head, facing away from him as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Surprisingly, she felt warm fingers under her chin as he turned her face to look at him.

"Did you get hurt when you fell?" He asked softly. She tried to turn away from him, but he only moved his head with hers so that he could continue looking at her expression. Finally, she shook her head, and met his eyes.

They were obsidian, shining in the dim lamp light as he looked at her earnestly.

"What's wrong?" He said gently. She shook her head again, lip quivering as she struggled not to burst into tears again. He stayed silent this time for a moment when she didn't answer, instead taking the edge of a white scarf around his neck (which was strange since he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans) and gently wiped away the lingering tears.

"Well..." he gave her a small smile, "How 'bout this. I'm Natsu," he stood up, holding out a hand. Slowly she lifted her hand, placing it in his and allowing him to help her up. He was a few inches taller than her- pretty short for a guy, considering she was only 5'5''. His pink hair seemed even more ridiculous as the lamplight shone on it directly.

"Woah!" He said suddenly, "Your tears are sparkly!"

She looked startled at his accusation, reaching up her hand to feel her cheeks. Then she remembered that she still had performance glitter on her face. She promptly began laughing, causing the boy in front of her to start with surprise at the sudden joyful noise.

"No," she said, still giggling a bit, "It's just glitter." She smiled at him and he grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah. That would make more sense," he said, blushing a bit and looking away. It was then that she noticed that they were still grasping each others hand, and she pulled it away, embarrassed. He quickly shoved his hands in his pant pockets (baggy pants, she noted), cheeks still slightly pink as they stared at each other.

"So, uh, why do you have sparkle-"

His question was cut off by the door behind Lucy opening with an audible creak. She turned to see Madam Porlyusica locking the door behind her before turning to see Lucy standing there. Her eyes flickered briefly to the boy next to her, before coming back to rest on Lucy.

"Tvoy papa forgot to pick you up again, da, Lucy?" She stated matter-of-factly.

Lucy nodded, reminded again of why she was still stuck here.

"Come, I take you home," her instructor said, walking off to her car. Lucy glanced at the boy in front of her, before lowering her face into the collar of her coat and heading off to follow Madam Porlyusica. She glanced back to see him staring at her as she walked away. Turning back around, she got into the car. As she drove away, she thought: His name is Natsu.

After he watched the car drive away, Natsu picked up his skateboard.

So her name is Lucy.

There you go! A cute little AU one-shot on how they could have met. Please review! Oh and let me know if I should add on at all. I was thinking of making it a three-shot or longer if people are interested in the story.