CHAPTER 2

I'm truly amazed by the great response this story is getting! Thank you all so much, here's hoping you like the 2nd chapter even better!

Please leave a review, and I just might make a third chapter XD

A few months had passed since then and Natsu was making steady progress with his studying and his grades. His teachers had suspected that he was somehow cheating at first but after some observation they were shocked to find that he was not.

After Natsu's warning in her classroom nobody ever bothered her again, in fact some of them had even started being nice to her much to her shock. She became friends with Gray and Gajeel, and even Erza since they ran into each other a lot whenever Natsu got into fights with the two boys.

For the first time she was having fun at school and not just using her free time to study or read, she was either texting Natsu when she could or hanging out with her new friends; she was surprised by the fact that Erza liked girly things considering how tough and strict she was in school.

Natsu and Lucy had gotten closer as they studied together. Natsu found out more about Lucy and her past, he found he didn't like her dad very much; the guy was always away from home, and even when he was there the guy had no time to spare to even say so much as 'Hi there' to Lucy. It made him want to sock the guy right in the nose. Lucy found out more about Natsu as well, about how he was sent to an orphanage at the tender age of 2, and how he was adopted by his dad Igneel at 5 and has been living with him ever since. They had formed a unique connection in such a short time together, they wondered why they hadn't spoken to each other sooner and with better circumstances.

Natsu and Lucy were at his house studying now. When Natsu first introduced Lucy to his dad he regretted it immediately coz since then his dad has not stopped teasing him about her every chance he got. Even his own cat looked at him teasingly.

'Damn you Happy'

He glanced up from the worksheet he was busy with to sneak a peek at Lucy's face. She looked so focused while she studied, like the rest of the world was blocked out and only her work mattered; she looked the same whenever she was writing too, Natsu noted.

"Hey Lucy, can I ask you something?"

Lucy looked up from her work and regarded him curiously.

"What's up? You stuck on a question?" she asked as she attempted to pull his worksheet and have a look at it.

"No, not that. Um, I was just wondering… why do you study so hard? I mean I figured you'd inherit your dad's company when you graduate anyway so I was just wondering why you even try?" he asked while nervously rubbing the back of his head, he knew her dad was a sensitive topic and he didn't want to upset her.

Lucy scowled slightly, she then sighed exasperatedly and put down her pencil. She folded her arms on the table and focused all her attention on Natsu.

"To tell you the truth Natsu, I don't want to inherit my dad's company" she started, Natsu pushed all his work to the side and listened to Lucy intently.

"Really?"

"Uhuh. See I don't want to live my life relying on him and his money, he can keep it all as far as I'm concerned. I want to apply for a scholarship to Magnolia U so that I can become a writer, and if I get it I plan on moving out, finding my own place and get a job to pay for it myself" she said determinately.

Natsu's eyes were wide. She really wanted to go that far to become independent? Lucy was amazing.

"Wow Lucy, you really wanna move out that bad?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

Lucy nodded her head slowly "I can't let him control me anymore Natsu, I want to live my own life and make decisions for myself. I know I'll make mistakes and stumble along the way but at least then I would learn and grow to become a better person. Well, at least that's what my mother used to tell me" she said with a sad smile.

Natsu was in awe. This girl was willing to give up her whole lifestyle just to do the things she dreamed of doing. How could one person be so strong?

"You know something Lucy, you're a pretty amazing person" he said with a tender smile and pink cheeks.

Lucy blushed at this "There you go again saying stuff like that so suddenly, it's so embarrassing…" she muttered.

Natsu chuckled lightly, that blush was the last straw for him. He had his suspicions for a while but today he finally confirmed it…

'I have officially fallen for you Lucy Heartfilia'

"What do you mean you're gonna be late?" Lucy asked questioningly.

Natsu scratched the back of his head sheepishly "Well I kinda got called back by my Chemistry teacher".

Lucy sent him a deadpanned look "What did you do?"

Natsu chuckled and swallowed nervously "Well… I may have… sorta… burnt his eyebrows off…?" he said looking anywhere but in her eyes.

Lucy tried to hold back a snort at this and covered her mouth to stop laughing.

"Oh God, seriously? How bad does he look?" she asked with a giggle.

Natsu grinned "Let's just say it's not a look his wife will be happy with".

"Oh Natsu, what am I gonna do with you?" she asked with a sigh as she rubbed his head affectionately.

Natsu laughed with pink cheeks "So you're ok to wait for me for a few minutes? He's probably gonna go over fire safety tips with me… again" he said with an exasperated sigh.

Lucy giggled at his misfortune "Sure I can wait, I'll be by the school gates ok?" she said with a smile.

"Awesome, see ya later" he said as he walked off to his chemistry class.

Lucy waved at him as he left then made her way outside.

She sighed to herself as she walked along the almost empty halls. She couldn't believe finals were just around the corner already, which meant she wouldn't need to help Natsu anymore and they wouldn't need to visit each other. Lucy frowned at this, she had grown so close to Natsu, and shared some of her deepest secrets with him that not even Levy knew about. Not to mention how nervous he made her, especially when he smiled at her and those embarrassing compliments he gave her.

She wasn't an idiot, she had read enough romance novels and watched enough sappy movies to know what she was feeling. She had fallen for the cherry haired pyromaniac, and she had fallen hard.

She sighed in disappointment, her main problem was that she wasn't sure he would ever feel the same way about her. She didn't know if he was only with her for so long already just because of the deal she made with him.

As she reached the school gate she checked the time on her cell phone, she would have to wait at least a few more minutes until he could come out. Mr Totomaru already had enough problems with Natsu as it is, having his eyebrows burnt off just gave him the opportunity to yell at him without question.

Lucy was pulled out of her musings by the sound of screeching tires and a roaring engine. A black Sudan pulled up in front of her suddenly, Lucy's eyes were wide with shock. Suddenly two guys dressed in black with sunglasses on jumped out of the back seat and made their way towards her.

"That's Heartfilia right?"

"No mistake, lets grab her and go"

Lucy started panicking. These guys screamed 'dangerous', and it looks like they were after her. Without a seconds hesitation she started running away from them and screaming for help.

But everyone who could hear her or see her refused to even look her way; these people were still the same, selfish and uncaring.

Lucy felt herself tearing up in fear. She didn't know who these men were or what they wanted from her, if she had to guess she would say they were kidnappers trying to extort a ransom for her from her father.

One of the guys managed to catch up and latched onto her arm roughly making her wince in pain.

"Come quietly and we'll make it hurt a lot less than it should" sneered the man as he pulled her towards him.

Lucy pulled and tugged trying to pry the man's hand off her but it was no use, she was getting closer and closer to the black car.

Just as she was about to be pushed through the door she screamed the one name on her mind.

"NATSU!"

Natsu wanted to tear his own ears off he was so annoyed. Mr Totomaru kept going on and on about how reckless and irresponsible he was, and how he should be paying for the emotional damages he inflicted on him by burning his eyebrows off.

Natsu scoffed internally; this guy was pissing him off and he knew it too. Just making him take up his free time when he could be with Lucy instead.

Natsu sighed to himself in frustration; he knew he had feelings for Lucy, the question was did she have any for him. Was she only hanging around him coz he protected her? He liked to think that they were each other's best friends at least. She knew so much about him, and he about her. There was a chance that she shared the same feelings right?

He was distracted from his internal worries at the sound of screaming from outside, he glanced out the window and felt all the air leave his lungs, his heart stopped for a second and his face paled.

He saw Lucy running away from some guys dressed in black suits, fear reflected in her eyes as she tried to get as far away from them as possible. And nobody was even bothering to try and save her.

Natsu felt his fists clench so hard he broke skin, his brows furrowed in anger and his vision turned red.

"Dragneel are you listening to me?! This is why your fail- WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

Natsu completely ignored his teacher and opened the classroom window, where he planned to jump from to get to Lucy.

He put his foot on the edge of the open window and prepped himself to jump.

"Are you mad boy!? This is the third floor!" yelled Mr Totomaru in a panic as he tried to grab onto Natsu…

But he was too late.

Natsu jumped out the window and aimed to land on the patch of grass nearby. He landed in a couched position and glared in Lucy's direction in blind fury.

'How dare they touch Lucy, I'll make em pay!'

He ran as fast as humanly possible to Lucy and saw that she was getting scarily close to a black car waiting at the schools front gates.

"Come quietly and we'll make it hurt a lot less than it should"

Natsu felt his anger reach its limit after hearing this; that's what he gets for having dog-like hearing abilities. He was worried he wouldn't make it in time, she was only getting closer and closer to the car. He felt fear coil in his stomach for the first time in his life and he didn't like it one bit.

"NATSU!"

Hearing Lucy scream his name like that fueled Natsu with an incredible energy he had never felt before. Of all people to scream for help she chose him, it filled him with a powerful desire to protect her with his life if she needed it.

With a speed even he didn't know he had he was right in front of the man holding Lucy and landed a powerful punch to the man's jaw, effectively knocking him away a few feet.

He saw Lucy's tear stained eyes land on him in shock and relief, but before he went to comfort her he had to take care of the other man trying to revive his knocked out companion.

"Get up you idiot, if you go to jail you're on your own!"

"You son of a bitch… putting your filthy hands on Lucy like that… I'm gonna beat ya within an inch of your life" said Natsu while cracking his knuckles and sending the man a death glare.

The man 'eeped' in fear and broke out in a cold sweat. He left his comrade and scrambled to get back to his car.

Natsu was about to run after him but stopped when he felt trembling hands circle his waist in a terrified embrace.

"Please stop Natsu, its ok, I'm ok now, you saved me" said Lucy in a trembling voice.

Natsu felt his whole body relax at her touch, he turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her to hold her tight.

"Thank God, I got to you in time" he said into her hair as he took a deep breath in relief.

Lucy chuckled tearfully and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah you did, thank you Natsu"

Natsu held on even tighter, afraid she would slip from his grip and disappear.

"Anything for you Lucy"

She blushed at this but didn't move, neither did he. They were content to hold each other and have this moment for themselves.

Eventually Lucy let go, much to Natsu's disappointment, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"We better report this, man when my dad hears about this it'll be hell" muttered Lucy in annoyance.

She wanted to pull out her cell phone but remembered that it broke when she tried to run away earlier, she cursed under her breath and asked Natsu if she could borrow his, which he was only happy to oblige.

She dialled a number and waited for an answer.

"Hello Capricorn? Yeah it's Lucy… Well sort of… Some guys tried to sorta kidnap me… No no no, I'm fine! Natsu saved me and knocked one of them out! Yeah… yeah he's unconscious and in front of the building… yeah… ok, I'll be home soon… fine, but please don't tell daddy! Please? Thanks, I'll see you at home… ok, bye"

She ended the call and sighed in relief.

"Well? Everything alright?" asked Natsu in concern.

Lucy handed Natsu his phone back and put her hand on her hip.

"For now anyway, Capricorn's on his way to 'collect' the kidnapper, so to speak. In the meantime he wants you to walk me home to make sure I get there safe, is that ok?" she asked with a shy look that made Natsu's insides swirl.

He grinned at her and picked up her school bag form the floor, "Course it is Lucy! I was gonna walk ya without being asked anyway"

Lucy blushed at this and smiled a softly.

Her blush then intensified when Natsu picked her up and began to carry her like a princess.

"Natsu! What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled in a panic and wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent herself from falling on the floor.

"What? Your arm is hurt right? Capricorn would kill me if I let you walk while you were injured" he said with a cheeky grin and pink tinted cheeks.

"I didn't hurt my legs idiot!" she yelled in embarrassment.

Natsu chuckled and continued on. But before he walked out of the gates he went up to the knocked out kidnapper and gave him a swift kick in the stomach for good measure.

Nodding in satisfaction he walked off with a bright grin on his face while Lucy tried to hide her red one.

"Ya know Lucy… you weigh a lot more than I thought you would"

"IDIOT!"

An air of awkwardness surrounded Natsu and Lucy since that day, and they had no idea what to do about it. And it really only started after they got to her house that day…

Natsu carried Lucy all the way to her house, even after she slapped him for making a comment on her weight. And brought her up to her bedroom where she could rest.

She insisted she was fine but stopped her protests when Natsu put a bit of pressure on her bruised wrist. Natsu dug out the first aid kit and began fixing up her arm while she sat on the bed in silence.

Lucy's eyes suddenly felt heavy and she felt herself drifting to sleep as Natsu wrapped her wrist. When Natsu finished he saw she was sleeping upright and he chuckled lightly at how cute she looked.

He pulled her covers back and settled her into bed. After making sure she was comfortable he tried to get up and go to his bag but was stopped by a tug on his shirt.

'Natsu… don't go…' muttered Lucy in a sleepy haze.

Natsu blushed slightly and sat down beside her bed. Lucy smiled in her sleep and sighed in relief as he did so.

Natsu was becoming overwhelmed by his feelings for her, it took everything he had not to jump into her bed and hold her close to him.

'Damn it Lucy, what are you doin to me?' whined Natsu in his hands.

Feeling his own eyes drooping he eventually succumbed to sleep as well.

He didn't know how it happened, all he knew was that when he woke up he was on Lucy's bed and his arms were wrapped around her waist.

He looked at her sleeping face and smiled as he pushed some of her hair out of the way. Her eyes scrunched together and she slowly began to open them. Natsu wasn't sure how she was gonna react when she noticed him, but he knew it wasn't gonna be good for him.

'Natsu?' she said groggily.

Natsu grinned sheepishly and gave a nervous laugh.

'Oh my, I didn't know you had company Princess'

Lucy's maid Virgo suddenly barged in and had a very sly look on her face which only served to fuel Lucy's embarrassment further as she sputtered and sat up a quick as lightning.

'No-wait Virgo, its not-'

'Fufufu, you liiike him' she said as she covered her mouth to hold back her snickers.

Lucy screamed in frustration and swiftly kicked Virgo out of her room. She then sent Natsu a glare that made him shiver in fear, so he did the only logical thing he could think of…

'Well look at the time, guess I should get home before Igneel kills me… see ya Lucy!'

'Use the door you idiot!'

Since then they have been unable to look each other in the eye, their friends could even tell something was up but refused to comment on it for their sake.

They couldn't even have conversations with each other without blushing like Japanese school girls.

Levy found the whole thing adorable while Gray and Gajeel just wanted to puke.

"What should I do Levy? I can't even look him in the eye anymore!" whined Lucy as she walked with Levy to her nest class.

Levy rolled her eyes, "I fail to see what the problem is, I mean you both like each other anyway, why not just confess and finally make it official" said Levy with a raised brow.

Lucy groaned into her hands and felt herself blush madly.

"Its not that simple Lev, I don't know if he even really likes me"

Levy stopped in her tracks and sent Lucy a look as if she was crazy.

"Are you blind Lu!? Of course he likes you, I'd go as far as to say he's in love with you!" yelled Levy while grabbing Lucy's shoulders.

"But what if its all an act!?" yelled Lucy with furrowed brows.

Levy blinked dumbly and tried to process what Lucy had said.

"What?"

"I mean, the whole reason we spoke to each other in the first place was because I promised to help him with his grades. I don't know if I can take all the things he does as genuine or not" said Lucy sadly.

"Oh Lu" said Levy sympathetically.

"The only way I'll know for sure is when finals are over and there's no deal connecting us anymore. So until then I won't say anything" she said determinately.

Levy sighed and cast a sympathetic look to Lucy.

"Alright Lu, if you say so"

"Will you cut that out?" said Gray with an annoyed look.

"What?" asked Natsu in annoyance.

"Stop banging your head against the vending machine! I can't pick my soda!" yelled Gray in annoyance.

"Oh poor Gray, can't go without soda, go get your nuts frozen" muttered Natsu in annoyance as he continued to bang his head.

Gray and Gajeel raised their brows at his response, normally he would have picked a fight right then and there but this… this was so un-Natsu.

"Ok, I can't take it anymore. What the hell is wrong with you?" asked Gajeel in annoyance.

Natsu stopped banging his head and looked at Gajeel with dead eyes.

"I can't look Lucy in the eye anymore, and she won't look in mine either" he said gruffly.

The guys sighed loudly in annoyance, they were so sick of this guy's idiocy.

"Dude, just confess to her already, its obvious you like each other, she's stuck with ya this long without running away hasn't she?" said Gray in annoyance as he grabbed his soda from the vending machine.

"Its not that simple ice brains!" yelled Natsu in aggravation.

"The hell its not" grumbled Gajeel as he took a sip of his drink.

"Dude at this rate Gajeel will have hooked up with Levy before you confess"

Gajeel spat out his drink and blushed madly at the snickering Gray.

"The fuck Stripper!"

Gray was laughing madly as he clutched his stomach.

"Oh man your even blushing! This is rich!"

Gajeel and Gray started fighting while Natsu went back to bashing his head on the vending machine.

"Thanks for listening guys, I feel much better" muttered Natsu sarcastically.

'Does she like me, or is this all because of the deal?'

"Natsu, I don't think we should see each other anymore"

Natsu blinked until Lucy's words sunk in, then he felt panic seep into his gut.

"Huh?" he asked dumbly.

"Well since finals start tomorrow I need to focus on my own studying for a while, so until they're over I think we should only focus on studying"

Natsu let out a sigh of relief, he was worried she didn't want to see him ever again, he was about to have a heart attack for a second there.

"Oh, uhm, sure I guess that makes sense"

"Great, also… well, that is… after the last exam… there's something I-I kinda wanna tell you… s-so make sure you stay after school that day!" she yelled as she ran away with a blush on her cheeks.

Natsu blinked and grinned at her disappearing figure, she was just too cute.

'I kinda have something to tell you too Lucy'

Finals in Magnolia High were hell. If you didn't study like your life depended on it you were doomed to fail from the start. Some students even left crying their eyes out they were so terrifying.

Luckily Natsu and Lucy were not one of those people. Due to their intense studying and great teamwork they figured they did very well with their exams.

Natsu was a little worried about his friends since they were idiots, but found out that Levy was asked to tutor them by a red faced Gajeel. Natsu wished he was there to see that, and it earned Levy a lot of teasing from Lucy when she found out.

Natsu stretched his arms out as he finished his last exam, relief filled him as he would no longer have to worry about writing anymore, now he just had to wait for the results. He would be worried but he trusted Lucy's teachings so he just had to suck it up and wait.

He switched his cell phone back on and found that he had a text from Lucy, looks like she sent it a minute before he switched it on.

'Meet me on the roof where we eat lunch'

Natsu swallowed nervously, he had no idea what she wanted to talk about. Hopefully it wasn't something too bad, he still needed to tell her how he felt and if she sent him away now he was sure he would shatter.

"Hey man, me and metal face are on our way to the arcade to celebrate the end of finals, you in?" asked Gray as he walked to Natsu's desk.

Natsu got up from his chair and slung his bag over his shoulder and shot Gray a nervous smile.

"Can't I'm meeting up with Lucy, later" he said as he walked robotically out of the classroom.

Gray stared at Natsu in confusion which turned to shock as he realised what Natsu meant with that nervous look.

"What's up with the flaming robot?" questioned Gajeel with a raised brow.

"I think he's gonna confess" said Gray in a disbelieving tone.

Gajeel choked on his spit and stared at Natsu in shock.

"You fucking with me Fullbuster?"

"Nope, he's got that look on his face, he's definitely gonna do it" said Gray with a serious nod of his head.

Gajeel stared at Natsu a bit longer then cleared his throat and slowly made his way out of the classroom.

"Well… uhm… scuse me for a sec"

Gray raised a brow at his sudden strange behaviour then grinned slyly.

"Don't tell me you're so petty that you'd confess to Levy before Natsu just to beat him"

Gajeel flinched in his spot then made sure to look everywhere but at Gray.

"No idea what you're talking about"

Gray laughed at this "You are! Oh man can I watch you crash and burn?"

"Shut up you bastard!"

Natsu had never felt more nervous in his entire life. His heart was pounding like crazy and he felt a sudden urge to hurl. His legs were shaking and his hands were trembling.

Deciding to pull himself together he punched himself in the face and took a deep breath before finally opening the door to the roof. The sight before him took his breath away.

Lucy was leaning on the railing and staring at the ground below, the sun directly in front of her figure and the breeze making her hair and skirt flow elegantly. She looked like an angel and Natsu was afraid the ground beneath his feet was going to vanish at the sight.

Natsu swallowed nervously and cleared his now dry throat causing Lucy to turn and smile at him as he made his way towards her.

'Ok, so far so good, it doesn't look like bad news on her part'

"Thanks for coming up here Natsu" she said with her hands behind her back and a soft smile.

"No problem Lucy, anything for you" he said with a grin.

Lucy blushed at this and turned her gaze to the ground.

'Idiot, why do you always have to say stuff like that?' thought Lucy in embarrassment.

"So, you wanted to tell me something right?" asked Natsu nervously as he stuffed his hands in his pocket to stop himself from fidgeting.

Lucy nodded her head numbly and closed her eyes in preparation, she took slow deep breaths and tried to calm her shaky nerves.

'You can do this Lucy, you didn't practice in front of a mirror like an idiot for nothing!'

She took one last breath and let her emotions fly.

"I know the main reason we were together was because of the deal we made. You helped me so much and even saved me from kidnappers who would've done god knows what to me…"

Natsu growled at the memory, he was just glad Capricorn dealt with those bastards before he did.

"…But being with you also gave me something I never expected. We became friends and I was never lonely when we were together…"

Natsu smiled at this, he was glad he made her feel that way and he felt the same whenever she was with him.

But now that our deal is over you don't have to hang around me anymore, and I should be ok with that…"

Natsu frowned, he didn't like where this was going; it sounded like she was ok with them no longer being together.

Lucy felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes, she refused to cry though; she would get through this with no tears if it killed her.

"…But the truth is, I don't want you to leave me Natsu" she said in a trembling voice.

Natsu's eyes widened at this, he wanted to say something but held back until Lucy finished.

"I have never felt this way before about anyone. You have become so important to me that I can't even imagine being apart from you for even a day!"

She felt her cheeks heating up and her voice become shaky, she was too afraid to see his reaction so she kept her gaze fixed on the ground in front of him.

Natsu felt his cheeks go hot. Was this really happening? Was the girl he was in love with con-confessing to him?! He thought he was gonna die right there.

"The truth is I-I… I love you Natsu!" she screamed with closed eyes and a red face.

'Dear Lord I think I can die happy right now' thought Natsu.

'I-I said it, I finally said it!' thought Lucy

Lucy refused to open her eyes; she was too afraid of what Natsu would say to look at his reaction.

Natsu had a blank look on his face at first, then he felt his whole face down to his neck go red and a large grin form. His stomach was doing backflips and he was sure his heart was about to explode for sure.

But he realised he hadn't said anything the whole time and Lucy was frozen with her eyes shut, and were those tears in the corner of her eyes?

Puffing out his chest and sucking up every ounce of bravery he had he stalked towards her trembling figure.

Lucy was terrified, confessing was one thing, but having to hear his reply was something she didn't prepare for at all. Her nerves were shot, he was being too quiet for her liking.

'Did he run away or something? God I'd take rejection any day than this deafening silence, its killing me!'

Suddenly she felt his figure standing right in front of he and her breath hitched. Suddenly the silence didn't look so bad anymore.

"You are just too cute"

Lucy's eyes shot open instantly and she looked to him in shock.

"Wha-mmph!"

Lucy was silenced by Natsu with a searing kiss. He grabbed her by the back of her head with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist.

Lucy was so deep in shock she forgot how to move, or that she should really be responding to the best and first kiss of her life.

She only managed to snap out of it when she felt Natsu's tongue slowly lick her bottom lip silently asking for entrance.

She closed her eyes and finally responded to his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so. Natsu sighed into the kiss as their tongues clashed in a heated dance.

Natsu was in a state of bliss, if he had known kissing Lucy would be this amazing he would have done it ages ago. Of course she probably would have received a slap in the face but hey, he was a guy after all.

Lucy had never felt so happy in her life. For her first kiss she could not complain at all, Natsu seemed to know what he was doing and she just followed his lead.

They broke apart for air, their breathing heavy and fast. Natsu put his forehead on Lucy's and sighed in bliss.

"I love you too Lucy" he said with a breathy voice.

Lucy giggled breathily and smiled so bright her cheeks started to hurt.

They held each other close and just basked in their own happiness for a while.

"I think we better get back before they lock up the school" said Natsu with a bright grin.

Lucy pouted and sent him a look "But I'm too happy to move right now"

Natsu dove in for another kiss, this one was softer, shorter and sweeter than the previous one.

Lucy sighed and looked at him dreamily "Ok, let's go"

Natsu laughed loudly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the door.

"Looks like I'm gonna be able to get my way a lot easier now" he said with a grin.

Lucy rolled her eyes and intertwined their hands.

"Just remember that I can just as easily do the same with you, Cherry-head" she said with a cheeky grin.

They grinned like love-sick fools as they made their way back down to their classrooms. As they walked down the halls they noticed that Levy and Gajeel had faces as red as strawberries and refused to look each other in the eyes while Gray was clutching his stomach while laughing like a crazy person.

Their friends turned and noticed that their hands were intertwined and smiled at this. Levy went over to Lucy and gave her the whole 'I told you so' speech while Gajeel was bragging that he confessed before Natsu did; which made Levy blush again and hit him on the shoulder.

Natsu and Lucy looked at each other and smiled blushingly.

As the group made their way to the arcade Natsu and Lucy walked beside each other with intertwined hands and thought to themselves…

'To think this all happened because of a deal'

END.

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