Chapter One: Heartbreak and Rejection

"I love you!"

Those three words blew Natsu Dragneel's world out of proportion, and distorted his surroundings, although if they had come from another girl, maybe none of that would have happened. Today, those weren't the only three words that had changed his life so far. In a single moment, his happy teenage life, his ecstatic sophomore high school year, had completely crumpled up into a ball of misery. All because of two phrases that each contained three words, Natsu Dragneel, popular boy, had been beaten down.

His morning had started out normally, just another exhausting Monday morning in his mind. The salmon-haired high schooler had woken up, hair ruffled and dressed in nothing but boxers. Next to him was his blaring alarm, an object that could care less about the valued sleep of Natsu Dragneel. Groggily, he pressed the off button and the noisy contraption went silent, making everything quiet enough for him to consider going back to sleep. But his little step-sister, his junior by a year, bounded into his room, smiling widely.

"Natsu-san! Grandine says to wake up!" the blue-haired girl said in her sweet little voice. Natsu smiled at her weakly, and flipped the covers off him.

"Alright, just…let me get dressed."

Wendy ran out of his room, and he listened as her footsteps sounded against the stairs. Natsu sighed, rubbing his face to energize himself, and he took a look at his cell phone. He hesitated before he grabbed it and opened it; the screensaver was beautiful. Lisanna Strauss's face was smiling right at him, as she clung onto his arm in the picture. Her expression told him that she was about to laugh, and the present him stood there, waiting to hear that sweet sound fill up the space. It didn't come, and Natsu, now convinced that he was some kind of stalker – even if the girl mentioned was his girlfriend – got dressed in his Fairy Tail Academy's uniform. As he slipped on his cardigan over his shirt, he thought about several things, most of them concerning Lisanna. No matter how much he didn't like to admit it, he had to admit that his girl had been drifting from him these days. Gray had assured him to not worry about it, that Lisanna was probably caught up in some kind of project, or whatever. The salmon-haired boy had accepted his friend's suggestion with a polite nod, but still, he remained unsure. Laxus, his best friend, who hung out the most with him, even when Lisanna was there, had told him that he shouldn't be worrying about these kinds of things; Lisanna was into him and he had nothing to furrow his eyebrows over. But…the white-haired girl was distant, he could tell, and this ate away at him.

"Natsu!" Grandine called, "Hurry up, please!"

"I'm comin'!"

He picked up a part of his bangs on the right side and made his was down the stairs. His father, Igneel, was already seated at the table, along with Wendy and Grandine. Igneel was a redhead with a slight attitude –which was where Natsu probably got his personality from – and Grandine was the blue-haired calm, wise beauty he had remarried. Today, Redhead was dressed up in a suit, since he had earned a job from some company. Grandine had made waffles with strawberries, a delicacy that was Erza's – one of Natsu's scary friends – favorite. Often times, their little kitchen table was crowded with buddies, and sometimes, Lisanna was the only one invited over. In fact, she had been coming over occasionally for years now, since she had been his childhood friend. Natsu had fallen hard for her ever since she had suggested that he was the father of the stray cat they had found – a bluish cat he had named Happy, and who now lived with him – and that she was the mother.

"Let's get married someday, Natsu!" she had exclaimed, her short hair making a halo around her angelic face. The salmon-haired boy blushed at the thought as he took a seat.

"Good morning, son," Igneel nodded to him, flipping through his newspaper. Natsu replied back with a hearty greeting, and began to wolf down his breakfast. Eventually, his plate became bare, and he grinned at his step-mother, "That was good, Grandine!"

The gorgeous woman smiled back at him and continued to eat her meal with dainty bites. Wendy was busy trying to copy her, but repetitively got syrup smudged on the sides of her mouth. Laughing softly, Natsu handed her a napkin, which she accepted gratefully.

"You better hurry you two, or you'll be late," Wendy's mother warned and her daughter picked up the pace, alternately eating and wiping her face. Natsu, meanwhile, set his plate and fork in the sink, and grabbed the milk carton from the refridgerator. Swiftly, he took a waterfall from it, grabbed a cup from the dishwasher, poured some out for Wendy, and put the container back into the fridge. The petite girl nodded her thanks and gulped it up, then she finished off her breakfast as well. Carefully, she brought her utensils to the sink and wiped her mouth with her forearm.

"We're leaving!" Natsu called as Wendy gave Igneel and Grandine kisses. He grabbed his school bag, and carried Wendy's while he was at it. He made his way towards the front door, bent down to put on his sneakers, and waited as Wendy adorned hers. She then opened the door for her brother and the two walked out, shutting the door behind them slowly as Grandine and Igneel called out, "Have a good day!"

Natsu now wished they had said to have an extra good day, because his did not turn out to be a "good day". The salmon-haired boy had arrived to school as usual, departed with his little sister (after giving her bag to her), and had made his way to his own classroom (after trading his sneakers for his indoor shoes). Inside him, he could feel the bubbly excitement of meeting up with Lisanna again after the weekend. He made his way through the hallways until he reached Class 2-A; slowly, he slid open the door, and didn't bat an eye as a rouse of greetings were yelled at him.

"Morning Natsu!" Gray nodded to him as the boy set down his things at his desk.

"Hey Gray…uh, where's your shirt?"

The black-haired boy looked down at himself, cussed, and ran out of the classroom to remember where he had last stripped. Natsu nodded in greeting to a few girls that gushed over him, a few guys that fist bumped him, and a few close friends that punched him on the shoulder. Throughout the process, he let his eyes wander around the room, searching for Lisanna. All he got was Cana Alberona yelling loudly at everyone, Evergreen bragging about something, and a blonde girl reading a book in the corner. The blonde girl made him double back, only because he couldn't remember what her name was. She had her hair tied in pigtails, and her uniform was neatly worn; she had curves, but no one seemed to notice her. Suddenly, his vision blacked out as two soft hands slid over his eyes. He smiled as he brought his hands up to lay them over the newcomer's.

"Guess who?" a familiar voice giggled, and he laughed softly.

"I don't know, is that you Elfman?"

"How mean!"

The hands pulled back from his face and the salmon-haired boy looked up at his girlfriend, Lisanna Strauss. Her short white hair was combed neatly, and she adorned a smile that made his heart wrench.

"How's it going?" she asked him, and he wanted to tell her about his worries. How he felt as if she was drifting away from him a little bit more each day, and how he felt as if this romance was becoming one-sided, but all he said was, "Great."

She smiled at him for a moment, before her face fell into a more serious expression. "Natsu, let's talk. At lunch."

Talk? It couldn't be good, whatever she wanted to talk about. Natsu could feel it in the pit of him stomach, but he tried to ignore it, and grinned at her, "Okay."

The bell rang just as Gray rushed into the classroom and took his seat, breathing heavily. He had his shirt back on, and gave Natsu the thumbs up sign, "Ha! Beat the bell!"

"That's great."

"What's wrong with you? Usually you'd insult me or somethin'."

"I don't feel like it…"

The classroom door slid open and Jiemma-sensei walked in. He was a substitute for Obaba-sensei the whole week, unfortunately. He was annoying, and everyone knew it, and so was his daughter, Minerva-sensei, another substitute teacher (for math class) Natsu had for the whole week in replacement of Bob-sensei. They had formerly been principal and vice-principal in Sabertooth Elite High, but had been kicked out due to their severe disciplinary system – anyone who tarnishes the name of Sabertooth Elite High would be expelled from the school. Now, they earned a living through substitute teaching, and were not allowed to give out punishments, even detentions.

"I'm your teacher for this week," he mumbled and wrote his name on the board.

Natsu didn't even mull over how aggravating the man was that hour because all he was thinking about was the future talk Lisanna wanted to have with him. He kept on dwelling on the matter throughout his math and English class, and when lunch finally came, he didn't have much of an appetite either. He just made his way up to the roof, where Lisanna's text message had told him to meet her at. The boy obliged and when he got up to the arranged meeting place, all he saw was Laxus Dreyar and Lisanna. Immediately, he got a horrible feeling in his stomach which arose to his throat, almost choking him.

"Lisanna…"

"Natsu, I have something I want to tell you," the white-haired girl cut him off, biting her lip in nervousness. Laxus wrapped his arm around her, and she seemed to relax. The horrible feeling grew.

"Natsu…"

She stopped again, then breathed in, "Let's break up."

He hadn't known. He didn't know. He knew it. He should have known it. He should have listened to him saying that he had known it all along. The world became a blur of colors with no distinct shape.

"What? Lisanna…"

"I'm sorry," Lisanna said, tears brimming in her eyes. Why are you crying? Natsu thought, I'm the one who feels miserable right now…He felt as if he were in a daze, hypnotized and glassy-eyed.

"I love Laxus."

"Sorry, Natsu."

He should have known. The way Lisanna had laughed around the blonde guy, how he had covered up her eyes, and joked around with her so often. He had liked his white-haired childhood friend all along, and Natsu had been too blinded by his own romance to notice.

"I…" the salmon-haired boy couldn't talk. The world seemed to be tipping around him, spinning out of control. "Alright." No, not alright. Beat him up, grab her, do something! Stop her!

"Okay, I understand," he heard himself saying. It was as if he was watching a drama on T.V. It wasn't his life, because he had a girlfriend of his own. Only, now it was reality…it was reality T.V.

Lisanna came over to hug him, pulled back, and let Laxus lead her away from him. She gave Natsu one more glance before she turned and descended the steps with her new boyfriend.

"Ugh…" Natsu heard himself give a low moan. He trudged back down the steps himself and went to his next class. He wasn't hungry, and he wasn't going to interact. He remained distant throughout the whole day. Even Gray couldn't break the trance he was in, and Erza couldn't even get him to wince even once with her bone-chilling threats. Once or twice, he saw that Bookworm Blonde Girl giving him quick glances, giving him a concerned look, but he didn't need it. He didn't need cheering up right now, and he didn't need pity.

So when it was time to go home, he had texted Wendy to go to their house by herself, and had withdrawn to the park. There, he seated himself on a swing and had looked at his feet. It wasn't long before the surroundings around him turned into an orange-ish glow, and things became blurry. Natsu cursed himself, and wiped away his tears, clenching his jaw to hold them back. He had liked Lisanna ever since he was little, and he had been sure that she had felt the same way towards him…and yet, she could give it up so easily.

"This isn't right, to be crying in a place like this…"

"Are you…alright?" a voice sounded next to him. He turned his head around, rubbing away the last of his waterworks. It was the blonde from his class, hair tied in pigtails, and eyebrows scrunched together.

"Are you alright?" she said again, and this time he answered her.

"Yeah."

"You don't look like it."

Surprisingly, she took a seat in the swing next to him, and he looked at her curiously. "What are you doing?"

The blonde looked at him seriously, "I'm going to comfort you!"

Despite his mood, Natsu permitted himself to smile a little at her words. "Sorry, but I don't know your name…even though you're in my class. What is it?"

She gave him a tiny smile, as if his reply were to be expected, "Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Oh. I'm-"

"I know who you are…everyone does."

"Oh."

The two of them sat there in silence for a moment, and the boy was the first to get up. "Well, I better be leaving now."

"W-wait!"

And that was when it had happened.

"What?"

"I…I love you!"

Coming this far in his memories, Natsu was now blasted to the present, and found himself looking at Lucy, staring up at him with beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"I know you have a girlfriend…but…"

"Actually, I don't…anymore…" he replied, still shocked by her sudden confession. The blonde snapped her head up, and he could tell that she was trying hard to suppress her smile. "Really?"

"Yeah, she broke up with me…this afternoon."

"Then…would you mind…maybe…?"

He stared at the girl before him, still shocked. She was actually trying to get him to date her after he had told her that he had JUST broken up with his girl?

"Um…sorry, I still…like her…I still like my ex."

Lucy looked up at him, sighing, and smiling a sad smile, "I knew this should have been expected. You didn't even know my name."

"Sorry."

"That isn't really the right word for this situation."

"What?"

"Sorry to me means 'I'm never going to see you again' or 'this is farewell', or that you did something wrong. You did nothing wrong, and I'm definitely going to see you again."

If only he had said that earlier to Lisanna and Laxus; it would have been a whole lot better than standing there like an idiot.

"I've…got to go," he told her and she grinned at him again.

"I'm not giving up on you, Natsu Dragneel. So, you hang in there with your love life, 'kay?"

The salmon-haired boy stared at her for a moment, then walked away. Even then, he could see the tears forming in her eyes. Even faced with the obstacle of rejection, how could she remain to be so strong-willed?

I'm not giving up on you, Natsu Dragneel. So, you hang in there with your love life, 'kay?

Natsu smiled to himself. That Blondie had done what he had thought no one could do: cheer him up.

"Lucy," he muttered, "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, her name is Lucy."

He was determined to not forget her name.