A/N To be frankly honest with you I have no idea what to make of this. Because I am only going to add about 1 to 3 more chapters to this, I don't know what to call it! A four-shot or a really short story? Anyways, this chapter doesn't really have to do with the plot, but more so to show you Lucy and Natsu aren't complete strangers. So when the romance starts it not completely random!

Disclaimer- Hiro Mashima, duh!

Edited- 1/24/14- 4/29/16

*Changed spelling, corrected mistakes, and added about 1,000 words. As a result, there are scenes and details that weren't there before (mostly between Lucy and Natsu). I couldn't help myself.*

*Deletion of song lyrics because I'm an idiot and decided to ignore Copyright laws as well as rules of Fanfiction. Please excuse my ignorance and I hope you enjoy the story. The song previously used was "Let Her Go" by Passenger (cover by Jasmine Thompson). I recommend her to everyone as she is a wonderful musician with a beautiful voice. (Thank you to the one who reviewed me reminding me this so long ago. You are amazing and I can't believe it took me so long to actually getting around to acting on your words. I'm glad you like my story!)

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

Lucy groaned and reached her hand over to answer her phone; silencing her ringtone.

"Hello?" Lucy said, drowsily.

"LUCY?!" WHERE ARE YOU?!" yelled the voice from her receiver.

"Ow!" yelped Lucy, now wide awake, "What are you talking about, Erza?"

"I'm talking about school starting in fifteen minutes and YOU NOT BEING HERE!"

"WHAT?!"

Lucy placed her hand over the speaker and turned around to read her silent alarm clock. To her horror, the alarm clock read 8:20.

"Gotta go, Erza!" said Lucy.

Snapping her phone shut, she jumped out of her bed and rushed over to her closet. Luckily, she had left the door open the night before, so it took no time at all to grab her school uniform off its hanger. Lucy quickly exchanged her pj's in favor of her uniform; white button up shirt, yellow sweater, grey skirt, a striped dark blue tie, and knee high socks. After getting dressed, she combed out her blonde hair into a side ponytail tied with a pink ribbon.

Before exiting her room, Lucy glanced over her shoulder to read her alarm clock again; 8:24.

"Only eleven minutes left!" said Lucy to herself, "Why didn't my alarm go off?"

Lucy raced to her bathroom. Throwing the door open with her foot, she grabbed her toothbrush and quickly applied the paste. While she brushed, she set to the task of applying a bit of makeup to her face with her free hand. Spitting out the paste into the sink, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She cringed when she saw her bedevil appearance. Even with the combing, her hair was frizzy and stuck up at awkward angles. Her makeup wasn't any better. Her mascara was smudged, foundation was uneven, and her bottom lip was more glossed then her top . Lucy sighed. At least her breath was minty.

Lucy raised her hands to re-tie her bow that had come undone and was now threatening to fall out of her hair. Next, she rubbed at her foundation until it somewhat matched her skin tone, then wiped the excess mascara off her eyes. Once she was satisfied at the result, she smiled and nodded at her reflection.

"Better." she said

Exiting the bathroom, she raced down the steps of her staircase; footsteps echoing loudly throughout the house.

Lucy paused at the bottom of the stairs in order to put on her shoes. Not bothering to tie the laces, she slung her school bag over she shoulder and tucked the loose lace ends into her shoes. She could always properly tie them later. Lucy then reached for the doorknob and flung it open. She ran out the open doorway with her bag slapping against her thigh as she ran.

As she ran down the street, she heard the door shut behind her and lock. Lucy smiled inwardly. Most of the time it was a bother, but sometimes, she loved her dad's new security system.

"I'm off!" called Lucy behind her, mostly out of habit.

Her mother had died when she was small and left her alone with her father. Growing up, her childhood was lonely because her father was never present on account of his work. As a result, Lucy didn't have many friends as a child. But, that all changed when she moved to the Magnolia last summer. She made many close friends, like Erza and Levy, and she no longer felt lonely. Instead, her days were filled with smiles and laughter.

Lucy raced down the sidewalk towards her school, Víla High. She checked the time as she ran; six minutes.

"Luce?" called a familiar voice behind her.

Upon hearing her nickname, Lucy didn't need to turn around to know that it was Natsu, a popular boy she occasionally tutored for. He wore the same uniform, but with grey pants. He also substituted the usual tie in favor of his scaled black and white scarf.

"I wouldn't have pegged you as a person to be late, Luce." said a cheerful Natsu, once he caught up.

Lucy turned to glare at Natsu. He wasn't even breaking a sweat!

"M-y-y ala-arm didn't-t go o-ff-f." huffed Lucy, jumping momentarily off the side walk to dodge a mailbox.

"Really? Me too! Although I don't think I set mine in the first place."

Lucy ignored Natsu's comment. And when gates of their school appeared over the hill, Lucy guessed they had about three minutes now until the first bell rang.

"We will never make it in time if you go that slow, Luce." stated Natsu in a matter of fact tone.

Lucy looked at Natsu with an exasperated expression, "This-s is slo-o-ow to you?"

Natsu didn't respond, but instead, he raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously.

Lucy narrowed her eyes in suspicion at his expression.

"What are y-OH! yelped Lucy, as Natsu grabbed her from underneath. One arm picking her up from under her knees, while his other wrapped around her back for support. Once he held her safely against his chest, he started running faster then their original pace.

"See? Now we can actually make it on time!"

"Natsu!" yelped Lucy, a blush tinting her cheeks, "Y-o-ou can't ju-u-st suddenly pic-c-k up people!"

"But I just did." answered Natsu, looking down at the girl in his arms with confusion.

Lucy sucked in a deep breath in order to catch her breath the running had caused her to lose.

"That doesn't make it right!"

Natsu pouted, "Were going so much faster though, Luce."

Lucy frowned. She adjusted herself in Natsu's arms in order to peek over his shoulder. Just as she thought; their surroundings had blended into a colorful blur, even the mailbox she had avoided earlier was turning into a fading blue dot in the distance.

"What kind of workout do you do?" Lucy asked to herself rhetorically as she settled back into Natsu's arms.

"You say something?" questioned Natsu as he leap over a fire hydrant.

Lucy looked up in surprise. He had heard her? "Oh!" She waved her hand in front of her face. "No. It was nothing. Just forget it."

Natsu shook his head, "Weirdo."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" said Lucy.

She moved her hand to hit him on the chest, but stopped when she noticed the position of her watch's hand.

"Crap! We only have two minutes!"

She glanced up at their progress to the school. To her dismay, the school was still blocks away. Comparing how much ground they had to cover to how much time they had, it was impossible.

Natsu scoffed, "I can do it in one!"

Lucy widened her eyes in surprise when she felt Natsu speed up their pace even more. She, instead, keep her eyes glued to her watch; counting the seconds as they ticked away.

Lucy jumped slightly when she felt the air conditioning hit her face. She looked up from her watch to notice the colorful blur of the trees and buildings had been replaced by a less colorful blur of the white dry wall of their school.

Natsu took a sudden sharp right and their surroundings shifted. The blue lockers began to color the white blur as they sprinted through the hallways. Mentally, Lucy ticked off the number of classroom doors as they passed them, until Natsu took the sharp left that began taking them down the hall that led them to their first period.

With a relived sigh, Lucy noticed the door quickly approaching. They might actually make it! Lucy began to move her legs towards the edge of Natsu's fingers, so it would be easier for him to set her down when they reached the door. Although, she quickly realized, Natsu didn't agree with her thoughtfulness. Instead of letting her move away, he only raised his arms slightly until she fell right back to were she was before - if not even closer to where she was before.

Lucy furrowed her brow. What was he doing? She was trying to help! She moved her legs again, this time with more force. As predicted, Natsu once again pushed her back against his chest, but this time he adjusted his hold so she couldn't move her legs again.

Geez! Was he trying to make it impossible for her to get out?!

As their class drew closer, the obvious realization came upon Lucy. The idiot was planning on running into the classroom without stopping!

"Wait! Natsu, put me down first!" shrieked Lucy, not even trying to be nice as she scrambled to get out of the princess hold. There is no way she could let anyone see her in this position!

"No time!" answered Natsu

Natsu's shoes squeaked as he came to an sudden halt outside of their first period, History, door. Tilting back, Natsu placed all his and Lucy's weight solely on his left leg while he raised his right in the air. Lucy's grip on Natsu's neck tightened as they tilted back.

"Wait, Natsu! Just open the door like a normal person!" she shrieked.

Natsu seemed to not hear her because he slammed his foot into the door anyways. There was a distant crack as the door flew open under the force of the kick. It was when Natsu placed his foot back on the floor that Lucy heard Natsu's name being called for attendance. This happened just as the door hit the wall and interrupted whoever was calling his name.

"I'm here!" said Natsu, a wide grin on his face as he walked into the classroom.

Silence answered Natsu as everyone in the class turned in their seats to stare at the pair in surprise. Seeing everyone's full attention was now on her and Natsu, Lucy turned her, deep red, face in the direction of Natsu's chest. She then tried, unsuccessfully, to make herself appear smaller. Although, unlike Lucy, Natsu seemed unaffected by his classmates looks as he glanced around the classroom in confusion.

"Hey Luce? Why is everyone staring at us?" he asked Lucy in a loud whisper.

Lucy didn't answer - mostly because she couldn't tell if he was serious or not - and moved her gaze to scan the back of the class. Her eyes roomed until she spotted Erza seated in her seat. Her expression was like the others; mouth hanging agape and eyes almost popping out.

"Um, Natsu?" said Lucy, hesitantly. She tore her gaze from Erza to look at Natsu who was already staring at her.

"Yeah, Luce?" answered Natsu

"You can put me down now."

"Oh!" He blinked once as if the thought had never occurred to him. "I guess you're right!"

He lowered his arms and gently placed Lucy on her feet.

An irritated cough echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to turn their attention towards the source of the noise. The source turned out to be their History teacher, Ms. Olietta. She stood by the blackboard, the attendance sheet, now abandoned on a nearby classmate's desk. She dropped her fist from her mouth, having previously used it to cover her fake cough, and rested it on her hip as she surveyed Lucy and Natsu with disdain.

"Now that I have regained everyone's attention." She looked at her students briefly before returning her gaze to the pair. "I would like to ask both Ms. Heartfilia and Mr. Dragneel to please take their seats, quietly." said Ms. Olietta, her eyes narrowing behind her oval glasses at the final word.

Lucy looked at the floor and nodded. She rushed to her seat next to Erza. Natsu followed Lucy's suit, although, he took his time walking to his seat in the middle of the classroom. After Lucy and Natsu were both seated, Ms. Olietta picked up the sheet and continued where she left off in taking attendance.

When she finished, she gathered her papers together before beginning immediately into that days' lecture. Her voice didn't waver even when the tardy bell rang seconds later.

Lucy, on the other hand, jolted in her seat at the sudden sound. She had forgotten - mostly because of her embarrassment - that they had been previously racing against the same bell. She looked towards Natsu's direction prepared to stare at him until he turned around in his seat. Although, it turned out she didn't have to wait long. He was already staring at her.

Once he saw that she was returning his gaze, he blinked and then shot her a grin.

She raised an eyebrow.

'Why are you smiling?' she mouthed to him

He raised up his fist and pointed at the area where Lucy watch was. He tapped the area once before setting his hands on the back of his seat.

"I told you," mouthed Natsu back.

Lucy rolled her eyes and shot him a smile of her own.

He was such an idiot sometimes.

A/N It is a bit short, but whatever. I actually typed this while staying home from school; sick. Maybe you can take joy in my misery.

I used - in an attempt to be original - the word "Víla" in the name of their high school. Víla is just Czech for Fairy. In short, the name of the school is "Fairy High".