notes: I've alwaysalways wanted to write a multi-chapter fic about summer camp. So here I am, finally doin' it.
disclaimer: applies to all.

chapterone

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Everything sucks.

This is why summer will forever be marred for him. He used to love summer, loved it like he loved blowing up the neighbor's mailbox, or, or—eating cake. Yeah, cake is awesome. But no, those wonderful days just had to be ruined the moment he entered high school, the moment he made his worst possible mistake in all of history. Natsu Dragneel became a counselor for a children's summer camp.

Damn Gray for talking him into doing this two years ago. Damn him for getting him stuck doing this for every goddamn summer in all his high school years. And most of all, damn this stupid bus and everyone in it—and he was not cranky because of this idiotic motion sickness or anything like that.

"If you vomit on me, I will rip off your dick and make you wear it like a sock," the blonde male next to him mused, as if casually showing him a coupon in the magazine he was currently flipping through. Natsu bit back a retort and opted to will his insides from regurgitating what little breakfast he had that morning. He did not ask to sit next to Laxus Dreyar, the biggest douche he's ever had the displeasure of meeting. He did not ask for the bus to have a seating chart, and he certainly did not want the seating chart to be organized alphabetically by surname.

The bus ran over a pot hole, sending the entire vehicle and all the passengers hopping up and down involuntarily in their seats. Natsu felt another unbearable wave of nausea, and grimaced, crossing his arms over his chest.

He hated everything right now.

Natsu dragged himself to Cabin 7, a firm scowl set on his features. He kept repeating in his mind how much better this was than spending an entire summer home with his dad, who often volunteered to help those in need and Natsu would be forced to go with him everywhere—and he was not in the mood to tend to old people with urine on their shirts.

The wood of the cabin held the familiar scent of pine and must, and he abhorred every bit of it. Ignoring the nostalgia of the carvings on the wall, he strolled over to his bed—the only non-bunkbed, 'cause there was no way in hell he was going to share with one of the gremlins he would be assigned. They would surely rock the whole frame, and Natsu would be awarded with a very realistic dream of ships sailing into stormy waters.

Picking up the linen, he studied his 'home' for the next several months. The pillows were gross. He made a mental note to switch his cases with the cleanest ones in the room before anyone noticed.

"I see somebody's the picture of enthusiasm."

The pink haired teenager turned to give his friend the 'fuck off' look because he was so not in the mood to deal with his shit right now.

"What do you want, ass face."

Gray shrugged, moving from his spot at the open door to jump onto Natsu's bed. Much to his dismay, the entire matress wiggled and wobbled like a vat of geletin. Great.

"I wanted to say 'sup. That bus ride was fun, huh?"

Natsu roughly shoved him off the bed using his foot. This didn't seem to bother the other male in the slightest.

"Be a good boy and go play somewhere else—I have things to do."

"Like what—hiding your porn? Y'know, the kids found Gramps' stash last year." Gray smirked and stood, brushing himself off.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "That's 'cause he put it in a really suspicious box that had 'Keep Out' on it—what, did he expect those little shitheads to listen?"

Gray opened his mouth and closed it, deciding against his reply.

"Well, well, if it isn't Ice Princess and Flaming Homo," a third male appeared, leaning against the door frame. Natsu muttered a 'che' and pulled out his headphones from his pack. Gajeel thought he was such a rebel, with his long, rebellious hair and millions of rebellious facial piercings—as if he were some separate breed of badass. God, he couldn't stand him.

"Gajeel." Gray nodded to him in acknowledgement but proceeded to ignore him, continuing his heated discussion with Natsu about good places to store erotic magazines and whatnot. Of course, this evolved into a full-on fist fight—or rather, a competition between who can slap the other faster. The lighter haired male really hated losing to his friend in anything, and that included petty arguments.

"You fairies can flirt later—let's go get somethin' to eat," Gajeel grumbled, snickering as he left.

"He fucking called me a fairy?" Natsu complained.

"That's what bothers you?"

It seemed like everyone had gathered at the mess hall in hopes of receiving a late lunch. Natsu looked at the familiar faces all around, stabbing his macaroni with a plastic spork—it was quite possibly the worst mac and cheese he had ever tasted. Seriously, the noodles were hard and stale and the cheese smelled like socks. Glancing at his friend from the corner of his eye, he smirked in satisfaction at Gray's expression, identical to his own.

"Oh my god—who the hell made today's lunch?" He poked his tuna sandwich with a careful finger, as if expecting it to bite it off if he aggravated it any further. A drop of a violet substance oozed down the crust, and he shuddered, stomach dropping.

"Er," Natsu started, unable to produce the appropriate words. As the two were dissecting the mysterious sandwich, a pair of familiar girls came to a stop in front of their table. Upon noticing their presence, Gray's face lit up instantly, and Natsu—well, not so much. At all.

"I made lunch for everyone, since the cook hasn't arrived yet," Mirajane informed them, playing with the tips of her frosted hair and smiling brightly before her expression quickly fell. She suddenly ran off, face buried in her small hands.

"Shit," Gray cursed, grabbing his (rather maimed) lunch and following her. "Look, Mira, I'm eating it! It's reallyreallyreally good!"

Natsu watched his friend leave with an amused smile before turning his attention to the blonde before him—a.k.a. the very last person he wanted to see that summer. His eyes roamed over her figure without him realizing, and he noticed her long, smooth legs, the curve of her waist dipping in, her ample (ahem) assets, and of course, the smug look on her pretty little face, soft, pink lips upturned in a small smile. So what if her 'Camp Fairy Tail' shirt was a little tight, emphasizing her curves in just the right places, or who cared if her long, blonde hair was perfectly tied in low pigtails, stray hairs cascading over her shoulders. It wasn't like he was looking or anything.

"Why, if it isn't Natsu Dragneel," her seemingly sweet voice was laced with malice.

"Lucy," he replied through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to clear his throat. Lucy Heartfilia was the most insufferable girl in all of Fiore—no, in the entire galaxy even. She had joined the Camp Fairy Tail counselors the previous year, and not only did she immediately throw him the 'holier than thou' vibes before even learning his name, she had to go and find the most trivial things to complain and argue about. She made his summer worse than a living hell—her and her huge boobs and long legs and—

"I see you're still an angry hag," she commented, crossing her arms over her chest. Not that he was staring.

"I see you're still a bitch," he countered, stabbing his lunch with more vigor than before.

Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed, but the devious smile on her pristine face widened just a bit. She leaned forward, placing a hand on the table.

"How has school been? Still failing Pre-Algrebra?"

"I'm taking Geometry now, thanks. And I have a C."

"You're gonna go far in life," she giggled. He glowered at her through dark, dark eyes.

"Yeah, well, shut up," he mentally kicked himself for not coming up with a better comeback.

Lucy frowned a bit. "Still haven't fixed that attitude, huh?" She shook her head disapprovingly.

"Still haven't fixed your hair, huh." Her hair, Natsu? Really. The knot of frustration in him expanded the more she continued to prod and jab at his pride.

She pouted, "What's wrong with my hair?"

He bit the tip of his spork, bending it a little. Unfazed by her act, he answered bluntly, "I hate pig tails."

"Your hair is pink. I don't think you should be criticizing other people's hair." She scoffed, flipping fallen strands of gold over her shoulder.

Natsu eyed her shorts—or rather, the tiny piece of material that barely covered her bottom, and he scoffed at her choice of attire. But he noted the way it hugged her hips, and damn it, why did it have to make her ass look so good—

"Are you a hooker or a kid's camp counselor? Put some pants on," he smirked when her smile dissolved.

She leaned in further, grabbing a handful of his trademark scarf, "Yeah, and who wears scarves in the summer, you dolt?"

"Don't touch m—"

"Well, aren't you two getting along swimmingly," another familiar face joined the two, smiling as she tied her long, vermilion hair into a high ponytail.

"Erza," Natsu acknowledged her, eyes never leaving the fierce brown ones before him.

"As if," Lucy scoffed and effectively ended the momentary stare-down, whipping his scarf back so that it slapped him in the face. He glared at her, but she only squealed and hugged her friend, completely ridding him from her attention. How can her entire mood just change in the span of seconds? She was so annoying, he just wanted to hibernate until summer ended, so he wouldn't have to deal with bipolar blonde harpies with poison-laced talons.

A voice boomed out from the speakers, and all eyes fell on the small, elderly man standing in the middle of the hall, microphone in hand. Natsu leaned his chin on his hand, barely listening to the annual 'welcome back' speech from their quirky, unorganized leader, who despite his impressive age refused to retire. He found his eyes wandering towards a certain figure again, traveling up her long, slender legs to her curvaceous—

NO. Stop it, Natsu. He pulled at a handful of his salmon hair, willing himself to think of poodles and Gray in drag and pancakes—anything but her.

"—and so that is why we will be pairing up for more interaction between girls and boys," Natsu choked on his own spit and gawked at the old man, whose mischievous smile looked quite suspicious. "I've already assigned the partners, so go see Mira for the list. That is all. Enjoy the rest of the day because the little monsters—I mean, children will be here tomorrow!"

Partners? Partners with girls? Oh god, kill him. Someone please murder him right now—doesn't matter how, just do it. Here, use a spork or this stale macaroni or—

"Looks like we're partners this summer!" His head snapped up at the high-pitched voice, eyes traveling skyward to see—blue? Natsu blinked and stared at the beaming girl before him. Her unkempt, cerulean hair was kept back with a simple headband that matched her orange shorts. The petite girl waved, a friendly gesture with no underlying hatred—unlike someone; he snorted. Oh, she was Lucy's friend—Lizzie, was it? No, that can't be right...

"Er, Lizzie?" He tried, offering her an awkward grin.

Her smile fell a fraction of a centimeter, and she pouted softly. "It's Levy."

"Oh, right. My bad," he gave her an apologetic look. The two shook hands and exchanged brief introductions before Natsu was roughly pulled out of his seat and dragged out the door, leaving a very confused Levy blinking to herself.

"Ow—what the hell, dude!" Natsu glowered at the culprit, rubbing his wrist. Gajeel didn't meet his glare, but instead chose to squish a bug under his shoe, kicking up dust and rocks.

"Your partner is Levy, right?"

The pink haired teen cocked his head to the side. Why did it matter to him? Unless — His eyes widened and a smirk tugged at his lips. Could it be...

"Someone's got a crush," he nudged the other male in the ribs, poking his face until he finally snapped. Slapping his offensive hand away, Gajeel scowled, looking rather conflicted.

"Shut up, fag. I don't."

"Then why did you—"

"Switch with me."

Natsu blinked. "What."

"I said switch with me, bitch."

He put his hands up in defense, amusement bubbling up inside. "No need to be so rude, Gajeel. I'll switch—but what do I get in return?"

The darker haired teen grabbed him by the scarf. "My foot not up your ass."

"Mm, I don't know. It doesn't seem fair enough—"

"I'll take your dish washing shift for two weeks," he reasoned, sighing and running a hand through his long hair.

"A month."

"Three weeks."

"A month."

"Fuck you."

"Well, then, I guess I'll just head back to Le—"

"Fine. FINE. A month of dish washing. Deal?"

Natsu smiled, greatly enjoying his moment of victory. Who would've thought that the stupid punk, Gajeel, would have a thing for the short bookworm?

"Alright, deal."

They shook on it, firmly gripping the other's hand, neither wanting to lose the display of dominance.

"So," he started as the two re-entered the mess hall, where counselors everywhere were partnering up, some looking flustered and others looking relieved. "Who was your partner?"

Gajeel suddenly stopped walking, a devilish smirk plastered onto his pierced face, pointing towards the far corner of the room. Natsu frowned—well that didn't look good. Slowly, his eyes settled on the very area where two girls stood chatting, looking rather impatient and confused. Next to his former partner stood the object of his utmost animosity and (sexual) frustration. Oh, no; please don't let it be—

"Lucy Heartfilia."

Day one of summer camp — things have already gone to shit.

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tbc

notes: I hope this fic goes somewhere and doesn't end up collecting dust. So, review? (: