Natsu stopped his headlong rush to the Chinese restaurant he frequented. He rubbed his stomach and took a deep breath of heavenly food odors. It was expensive, yes, but it was the only place that could get the spicy orange chicken just right. No other restaurant in town used enough spices to actually satisfy his palate. Stomach rumbling; he sprinted to the pedestal where the waitress was standing, holding a bag of his favorite food.

He grinned at the waitress who by now knew to stand back as he snatched up his food and dashed over to an empty table. Most people ordering pick-up wanted to consume their food at home, but he never could wait. He ripped open the bag and one of the portions of spicy orange chicken, inhaling half of it before calming.

Natsu set the chicken down and hunted for the special pepper rice that was his second favorite food from the restaurant. While prying the lid off, he spotted an unmistakable yellow lock. Even in a sea of people dining, he'd recognize that idiot's hair.

Happy now that he'd taken the edge off his hunger, Natsu stood up. He stalked to the table his friend was sitting at. He wanted Sting to be unaware of his movements. Messing with each other like this was a long tradition that had started when they were children.

Closer, he noted the immaculate suit Sting wore, the polished shoes and spiffy tie. "Dude! You're on a date!" Natsu bent over the table and laughed. "Didn't think there was a woman stupid enough to put up with you!"

Sting jumped off his chair and whirled around to simultaneously hug and punch his friend. "Yeah, maybe she'll have an even stupider sister for you!"

They pounded each other's backs heartily, the violence in the action tempered with the merest amount of friendly love. Natsu dropped into the other vacant chair of the table and leaned forward. "Now really, you gotta tell me how you managed to get a date. I thought you were still licking your wounds after Minerva?"

"Shut up about that old news. I've been set up with an angel."

"Yeah, the only angel in the area is gonna be mine," Natsu smirked and ran his fingers through his hair. "It was love at first sight. She's beautiful and gonna be all mine."

"Great, you and this imaginary girlfriend of yours can double with me and my perfect match," Sting grinned. This was old and familiar. They'd each run their mouths trying to outdo each other. The more outlandish the claims one of them made, the other strived to outmatch.

"My lady, and she's a lady," Natsu proudly stated, "Has long golden hair. The real thing, unlike the ratty mop you're wearing."

"Screw you, prick." Oh, this was getting real. Sting flipped Natsu off and continued running his mouth. "My date is built like -" He motioned his hands as if he was caressing an hour-glass.

His damned smug grin pissed off Natsu. "My woman has that beat."

That's when Lucy returned from the washroom. Not quite sure how her date had acquired another date - that date being the man she'd thought would be her date. What the hell?

"Natsu?" Lucy gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. What was he doing here?

"This is your date?" Natsu gawked at Sting while pointing at Lucy, and the blond man smirked.

"The one and only," Sting smiled up at Lucy with his sharp teeth, and Lucy nervously smiled back.

Natsu stood up in an instant, snatching his bag up and moved towards his apartment in haste. That asshole! He stole his girl!

"Natsu!" Lucy called out, her hand outstretched towards the retreating man.

"Settle down. You don't need him anyway. I'm way better than he ever was," Sting said, pushing a hand through his hair.

"No, you're not! This whole time you've been on your phone. That is a mark of an uninterested man to me, Sting. Please drive me home. I want to call Natsu and make it up to him," Lucy said, eyeing the tiny dot of pink. There was no way she was about to make it to see him now, and the only chance she had was to call him and confess.

"If that's what you want, fine," Sting sneered, pulling out his wallet and paying the tab with a small tip. Lucy was reminded then of the large tip Natsu had given the waiter at the Italian restaurant that they had gone to. She turned her face away from Sting, sighing.

As he drove her home, Lucy's thoughts were filled with Natsu's shocked comment. What would he say if she told him that it was all a mistake and that she wanted him instead?

The wheels screeched as Lucy reached her apartment, and she thanked Sting for the nice time and got out.

"Wait, Lucy," Sting said, grabbing her arm. She only stared as he rubbed the back of his neck, a soft flush covering his face.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk earlier, yeah? Jealousy got the best of me. Ya see, a girl dumped me for my best friend Rogue last year, and since then I've been kinda...off. My apologies for being such a fuck up," Sting sighed.

Lucy rubbed his arm softly. She knew what it was like to be traded in for someone better, and she didn't want to go through this hurt again.

"Thank you for apologizing, Sting. I'm sure we can be friends. But now, I've gotta find my own Prince Charming," Lucy smiled. Sting smiled back and closed the door, waving as he took off.

Lucy meandered through the parking lot to get to her apartment and unlocked the door, throwing herself on the couch closest to it. She couldn't calm her erratically beating heart, the sound echoing so loud that it seemed to reverberate through the empty apartment. She needed to tell Natsu. Every beat of her heart seemed to say his name; her head filled with nothing but him. This was ridiculous, Lucy thought to herself. If she didn't tell him, her heart was going to explode.

As night fell, and Lucy tried to clear her head of Natsu. A hopeless cause, really. Lucy began to drift off to sleep, and just as the moon filled the sky, Lucy's dreams were filled with Natsu.

PAGE BREAK

As she woke up the next morning, Lucy's thoughts jaunted to Natsu in the most inopportune moments. When she was showering she thought of his forearms as she washed her own, and with a blush, she quelled the thought immediately. She almost dropped an egg when she was making breakfast, the memory of Natsu doing the same for her a little while back was distracting to say the least. When she was typing a message to a friend on her phone her thoughts wandered to his fingers as he swiped left and right as he fixed her phone and rid it of the spam.

Her heart began to thump in her chest like a caged animal waiting for the right moment to escape. The inhibitions of her mind were lowered as she picked up the phone, calling just to talk to him. She just wanted to hear his voice and know that he wasn't angry and explain the situation with Sting.

Sure, Sting was attractive, there was no denying that. He was sweet when he wanted to be and she liked that. He looked good in a suit, and he was gentlemanly the whole night to her except for the time that he had snapped. But he had even apologized and been kind about it. The only problem was Natsu himself.

It was like she couldn't let go of him. The time she spent with him, although only about a week when she thought about it, seemed far apart and lightyears away from the life she one had. Her life was a blur of gray before she met him. And now?

It was in full color.

Lucy felt slightly inebriated, drunk on her feelings and him. She punched in his number in a tizzy, giggling as the dial tone droned.

She was expecting to hear his voice. And she did...in his voicemail.

"Yo! This is Natsu Dragneel. Leave a message and I'll give you a call back later. See ya!"

His voicemail was as full of energy as he himself was, and it was to be expected of the person that drank four shots of espresso every day along with loads of sugar in his caramel ultra hot drink.

Lucy hung up the phone and immediately dialed again, but her heart sank deep in her chest when she heard the same voicemail. Again and again, her hopes were dashed. She sighed and fell on her bed once again, giving herself time to think.

Lucy thought about all of her options for a moment, and then her mind rested on one that stood out to her. Rolling over on her bed and pulling out her phone, she brought up Natsu's address he had sent in a text once.

'I can't just go over to his apartment!' Lucy thought with a shock. She couldn't just show up unannounced. What if he had friends over and he wanted her to meet them? That would be very embarrassing even though they weren't even dating.

'Well, what is there to lose?' her thoughts persisted, and Lucy decided to go for it. She was hoping to tell him her feelings sooner rather than later, and what was the harm telling him now?

Lucy grabbed her boots and pulled them on, bouncing around the room. Finally she would be able to tell Natsu what she felt for him for real, and maybe then their relationship would start! She grabbed her keys quickly, running out the door. She practically jumped into her car and started the ignition, pulling out of her parking space and bringing up the GPS on her phone.

As she drove, the dread filled her heart and bones and sunk in like a stench that wouldn't ever go away. What if he didn't want to see her? What if he turned her away? Lucy wondered this all the way to his apartment, and when she parked she placed her head on the steering wheel silently and took a deep breath.

"C'mon, Luce, you can do this," she whispered to herself, "After all, the guy has shown interest in you before. So all you've gotta do is go in there and show him what you're made of!"

After the pep talk, Lucy marched up to Natsu's door and rapped on it heartily. She waited for about a minute, and then rapped on it again.

Once again, she was patiently expecting to see Natsu's smiling face as he opened the door. The last surprise hadn't been an entirely unpleasant one, but she was more excited than ever to talk to him.

"May I help-oh! Hi Lucy!" said a familiar voice, and Lucy gasped in shock when she realized who it was.

Lisanna.

Clad in a hoodie that dwarfed her size, the woman rubbed her eyes sleepily. Her white hair was matted to her head and half of it was flipped up on one side. The hoodie was rumpled and it covered her entire form.

Amazed beyond belief, Lucy stared into Lisanna's sleepy eyes with a malicious glare.

"I thought you were in a serious relationship with Mest! Some friend you are," Lucy growled, and she stomped off back to her car and drove off, wheels screeching.

Despite LIsanna's cries to come back, Lucy drove away. Tears blurred her vision as she swerved into her lane.

She was never going to forgive Natsu for what he had done. Not now, not ever.

PAGE BREAK

"I told her to come back, Natsu, but I think he thinks that I'm sleeping with you now," Lisanna said, her voice breaking into a cry.

"Dammit," Natsu cursed, slamming his fist on the table. How could this happen? He had been in the living room watching television when Lisanna had come in crying and told him what occurred. How was he supposed to tell Lucy how he felt now?

"If she only had known that our home had been foreclosed on and we had to stay in your extra room..." Mest said, trailing off with a yawn. He and Lisanna hadn't been getting much sleep as they had been theorizing how to get a new house sometime before Mest proposed, and they had taken the small gap in time to take a short nap.

"I'm going to take a shower and then go get some lunch for all of us. But Natsu," Lisanna said, peeking her head around the corner, "You better not mess this up. This girl is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to you."