Faster Than a Heartbeat

Summary: It only takes a fifth of a second to "fall in love". But for them, it happened faster than that.

A/N: This is a prize for FuzzyPeachz (I Think that's the name xD) for winning third place in my contest. I am sorry it arrived late. If I'm wrong with the pairing you wanted, I am so sorry. Ella didn't beta read this, she was busy, I THINK. There are mistakes cause I couldn't proofread it due to a CERTAIN SOMEONE so I posted this right away. I suggest you read the chapter while listening to Ready or Not by Bridgit Mendler. LMAO, in the end, I didn't make it and she's gonna sleep. WHUT. BEWARE GMB READERS, SPOILERS AHEAD!

WARNING: This chapter was not beta read, I only proofread this.

Genre: Romance, LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT (Is that even a genre? Meh, whateva)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.

She sat on the curb; hands planted on the ground and body leaned back. The wind passed by and her blonde hair was blown out of her face. With a sigh, she crossed her legs and tilted her head to the side, watching the kids on their bikes go by. Laughter rung in her ears and she closed her eyes to bathe in the sun's warmth, smiling as she imagined the sun sinking down while her face was lit up by its rays. For a moment, she sat there, listening to the birds chirping in the trees and the leaves dancing with the breeze.

She lowered her head and straightened her back as she heard shoes slide against the street, creating a raspy sound when a person sat beside her. She shifted and tried to see the man's face. When she did, her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks turned red.

Then, just as his gaze caught hers, pure green eyes staring into her brown orbs, the sun exchanged places with the moon and the sky went dark. Her breath hitched and she looked away, her heart beating faster and faster, like a hummingbird's wings flapping back when it sucks nectar from flowers. She uncrossed her legs and pulled them to her chest, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment.

She heard him chuckle and she stared at him through the spaces of her fingers, eyeing the blonde man who was staring at her in amusement. They sat there for what seemed like an eternity, eyes boring into each other's souls. His eyes danced with mischief as he watched the woman, lips twitching into a smile when her cheeks reddened and she hid her face in her hands once again.

He decided to start a conversation.

"So, I'm Sting. You are?"

Silence answered him and he chuckled, patting the woman's head softly before whispering in her ear, "I asked what your name is."

His voice sent shudders down her spine and she swallowed a lump in her throat, forcing herself to speak. "Lucy…" She mumbled, feeling her face heat up again, "Y-You can call me Lucy."

Slightly surprised by the woman's answer, Sting stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants. He stretched his hand out to her, the other on his hip as he smiled, "Come."

"Where to?" Lucy asked, lowering her hands from her face. She could only stare at his hand, debating on her mind whether or not to take it. From Sting's point of view, she just looked like she was scared of him. Shrugging, he bent his body down and took her hand in his, pulling her up to stand.

"There's a party at the beach," He said, smiling at the girl as he jerked his head at the direction of the beach, "I was wondering if you'd want to dance."

Lucy lowered her eyes to stare at the street, "I can't dance."

"I don't believe you," Sting said, chuckled as he reached for her wrist. When he found it, he gently began dragging her down the street, "Come on, it'll be fun."

"I don't have anything to wear f-for the party…"

"You can buy a swimsuit, there are stores there."

Lucy played with her hair, "I d-don't have money."

Sting laughed, "I can buy you one."

"I have a c-curfew to follow…" The woman protested. She knew she had curfew but she couldn't bring herself to pull her hand away. She could only sigh as she allowed herself to get dragged by the man, a blush lingering on her cheeks.

There was a faint sound of music playing and Lucy could see the beach illuminated by lights. Gulping, she tried to open her mouth to tell the man that she was about to go home when she shut her mouth close, swallowing the words down her throat. She nibbled on her bottom lip and hyperventilated silently, not believing for a second that she was going to a party with someone she just met.

Sting looked over his shoulder to stare at Lucy, "You live around here?"

The other blonde nodded, "A few blocks down the road."

"Cool," Sting said and he gently dragged her down a slope, smiling as she skipped her way to the bottom. He let go of her wrist and grasped her hand, "I live in a subdivision near the cove."

Lucy blushed when she felt him squeeze her hand. She sucked in a deep breath, "T-That's pretty far…"

"Well, I like how it's just a walk to the cove," The male blonde said, grinning as they reached the beach. He squeezed her hand again and they walked to the far end of the beach where there was a store of bikinis. Blushing, Lucy could only stare at the articles of clothing before eyeing Sting from the corner of her eye wearily. He laughed and ruffled her hair, "I won't take advantage of you so just pick anything you like."

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, giving Sting a sideway glance before staring at a particular bikini, "We just met—I don't want to be a burden."

Sting shrugged, "Just pick one already." He laughed as Lucy blushed and picked a red plain bikini, "You like plain?

"I like plain."

"Okay then," Sting brought out his wallet and paid the bikini, smiling at Lucy as he dragged her to the party. For seconds, she pondered on her thoughts. It was wrong to fall in love so fast, to trust the man so quickly was amiss itself. She wasn't the type who believed in love at first sight—she found it stupid. Why would someone fall in love with someone she or he had just met? What if the person you fell in love with was a thief—what would you do then? Due to these thoughts, a book about a gangster and a student council president popped in her head.

The man's first impression on the girl was "delinquent". He found her clutching the collar of another student with bodies lying on the ground. He watched her, not wanting to deal with another problem. She was surprisingly obedient when he asked her to fix her uniform and wear the school cardigan. They fell in love—it wasn't love at first sight but it was better: Fate. The girl turned out to be a police in disguise, catching other gangs for their crimes. The guy was surprised but he still loved her. They were together then, but someone was jealous, wanting to kill the guy.

The girl got shot instead, jumping in front of her beloved just when the trigger was pulled. No one could blame the shooter, he was blinded with jealousy. But the man was furious, he was so angry that he nearly ended up killing the jealous man. Even the girl's gang was mad with rage. By that time, the girl was rushed to the hospital, death almost taking her. For days the man waited for her to wake up, for nights he lay awake, thinking of how stupid he was to have allowed the girl to get shot. She woke up weeks later, a soft smile on her face.

Lucy loved the story; she marveled how the author thought everything through. It was saddening to think that it was finished but it was better than nothing. Right now, she believed the impossible. She had fallen in love the moment she met him—it was fate.

When they arrived at the party, they began to join the crowd, often bumping into dancing people. She was scared to see many people; she had always been secluded in her home, only allowed to leave to see the sunset. She was the kind of girl who didn't say a word. People often told her that it seems like when she sits on the curb, it was like she was waiting for the world. She had to admit that she thought of it that way sometimes.

Before she knew it, she was standing somewhere in a mass of people, her now-bare-feet digging in the sand with the wind cooling her torso. She looked around for Sting to find herself alone—not technically alone though. She gasped, she must've let go of his hand when they left the bathroom. Cursing in her head, she licked her lips and tried to look for the yellow-haired man. It wasn't easy, there were too many people laughing and dancing—they were covering each other, making it impossible to see the other people behind them.

In the crowd, the music was loud but she will find him, she had to. Sighing, she pushed through the crowd, bumping into a few people here and there, often apologizing after with a warm smile on her face. She would be patted on the head and they would leave her to look for Sting. She accidentally spilled someone's drink when she pushed through the crowd and she bowed apologetically. The man shrugged it off and smiled, telling her it was okay.

That was when she realized that she should've asked people if they saw Sting instead. Heaving a sigh, she asked the man if he saw a blonde man with green eyes.

"Huh? Oh, yea," He said, staring up at the sky, "Now that I think about it… he was looking for you too."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat and she gulped, "Do you know where he went?"

The man nodded, jerking his head towards the ocean, "He went to the shore."

"Thank you."

"Sure thing."

The blonde was once again swallowed by the crowd, hearing the guy chuckle one more time before the music filled her ears. Somewhere between the music, though, she could hear someone yelling by the shore.

"Lucy!"

Her heart began pounding in her chest and she began to sprint through the horde of people, feet kicking in the sand as she pushed her way through, seeing Sting waving his hands up so she could see him. She released a breath she didn't know she held and when she was out of the crowd, she ran up to Sting. The man laughed as Lucy wrapped her arms around him. He gave the same treatment, cooing words in her ear as he felt her body tremble.

Sting frowned, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice that your hand slipped."

"I was scared," She mumbled, not minding the fact that her face was leaning on his broad chest, "I've never been in a crowd before. I was always in the house, secluded and hidden from the world."

"I know," Sting mumbled in her hair, sighing, "That's why I invited you to this party. I know about you, Lucy Heartfilia."

The said woman leaned back at arms-length, staring at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked, her eyebrows drawn together.

"I've always watched you, I guess," The man said, a light tint of pink appearing on his cheeks as Lucy blushed. He cleared his throat, "Chill, I'm not a stalker. It started a few weeks ago. I saw you walking down the road on my way to the cove from work. I thought you were heading to the cove like me but you sat on the curb and began watching the sunset. I was awed at the expression on your face. You looked so peaceful, serene, actually. I didn't want to disturb you so I waited until you left. The next day, you were there again and day after that, and the day after that." Sting licked his lip anxiously, "It was kind of overwhelming to see such a pacific person in front of me, it made me drawn away from the world."

Lucy went silent, her chocolate brown eyes staring up at his. She blinked and opened her mouth to speak but Sting spoke again.

"Then I began asking about you, they told me that you weren't supposed to be outside your house. They told me that you were supposed to be hidden from the world. I didn't know why but I knew that you had to get away from all the solitude and then some miracle happened, there was a beach party and you were there again, sitting on the curb, drawn away from reality," Sting said, smiling when Lucy's blush darkened and she lowered her face. The blonde male chuckled, twirling strands of her yellow hair around his finger, "You didn't seem to notice me at first, but when I made a rough sound, you detected me right away. I thought you wouldn't come with me just like that but surprisingly, you did."

Lucy gawked, her mouth hanging open, "Y-You've been there all this time?"

Sting chuckled, tilting his head to the side as he lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, "You can say it like that. You were alluring."

"T-Thank you," Lucy mumbled, her heart pounding in her ears, "I'm f-flattered."

"Don't be," Sting said and he bit his bottom lip nervously, "D-Don't run away after this, o-okay?"

She could only watch with wide-eyed enchantment as his trembling fingers nervously reached down to her sides, searching for her own hands. She didn't move a muscle as her hands were brought up to a pair of lips, softly kissed.

Her heart began slamming against the sides of her rib cage as the lips moved from her hands, to the inside of her left wrist. Green eyes flicked up from the skin and peered into her brown ones. For a moment, she thought that she was going to faint any moment now. She wasn't used to these kinds of things, sure, she loved reading and she learned from it but that was it.

Sting wanted to know if this was okay. He wanted permission to kiss something otherthan her hands. Lucy could barely feel herself nodding as she released a shaky breath, wanting to know if he could hear her heartbeat for she knew that it was loud enough to be heard.

His mouth moved from her wrist and Lucy felt her breath leave her as his body stepped closer. Hands grasped her shoulders as Sting's head leaned in. She sighed in relief as he moved past her lips, glad that he had, because she hadn't prepared herself at all! Her heart was still beating loudly from the first kiss; it was unexpected and well… surprising.

All she saw were yellow locks as he placed a softer kiss on her neck. The spot of skin that his lips touched lit up and the nerves were sending brain signals one thousand miles a second, signaling "this is electric, this is terrifying, this is a man I've just met who watched me the moment he saw me. This is perfect."

The smell of the salty sea hit her nose as he pulled away, and she could feel the hairs on her arms standing up when he whispered in her ear. "Are you okay?" He asked, a tone of worry in his voice. He didn't need an answer though; he knew that she was fine.

He looked at her one last time, searching for any sign that she didn't want this. She couldn't believe it. Moments away, it was only moments away; the thing that she had been wishing for since minutes ago was coming. An hour ago, she couldn't imagine herself doing this with him. They were complete strangers yet that didn't even matter anymore. Her toes were curling in the sand and her skin was on fire.

She didn't want to wait anymore. Lucy leaned in towards him and Sting moved towards her, gripping her hand tighter than he ever had before. She could feel the warm breath ghosting on her; she could feel her lips whispering across his and before they knew it, they were kissing each other. Lucy's knees felt like jelly and she wrapped her arms around his neck to support herself, lips moving in sync as they kissed each other.

This wasn't any normal kiss. This was a kiss full of emotions. It wasn't a kiss of lust and it never will be. It was funny, Lucy thought that love was stupid and that it wasn't needed—her father didn't even love her or maybe she thought of it wrong. She was always in her house, stuck in her room reading books. She didn't go to school back then, only being tutored by a woman her father hired. After her mother died, he feared that the same would happen to her and so, he kept her hidden from the cruel, evil world.

Lucy leaned back—she didn't want to go any further yet. Sting was still a stranger to her and she needed to know him more. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked away shyly, "I, um, well… I…"

"You're flustered," Sting mused, quirking a brow when Lucy merely nodded in reply. He grinned and ruffled her hair, "Don't worry, that's fine. I don't know what to say myself."

"I, um…" The woman trailed off, eyes glancing up from the grains of sand to his eyes, "I l-like you…"

Sting smiled, "That's nice. I like you too."

Lucy smiled softly, her eyes fluttering to a close as a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She found herself dancing with Sting when a slow music played from the party. It was faint but they could hear it. Plus, they preferred to dance somewhere where no one would bother them.

Leaning her head on his shoulder, she mumbled softly, "I have something interesting to tell you."

"What is it?"

Lucy giggled and she smiled, "Did you know that it only takes a fifth of a second to fall in love?"

"Really?" Sting asked, his eyes widening, "And no, I didn't know."

"Yea but that's not what's interesting though," The female blonde said, ignoring the squealing girls who passed by them.

Sting raised a brow, "Then what is?"

"If falling in love happens in .02 seconds," Lucy's cheeks flushed at what she was about to say.

"For me, it happened faster than that."

The man blinked and he laughed, hugging her tightly. His cheeks turned pink and he smiled, "Well, isn't that ironic."

"I fell in love faster than that too."

A/N: And we're done! Phew! Sorry if you guys got mad with the spoilers for GMB, but I needed to write that XD So, I hope you all liked it, especially the winner - it's crucial to know if the person liked it. IloveCelestialIce went crazy with this one-shot so I hope you guys did as well xD By the way, there's a RoLu week. Care to join? For more information, please PM Altrilast13, she's going to provide you all the answers to your questions - not all, I guess. Hmm.. what else? Oh yea, I have another JeLu drawing, please check it out at DeviantArt :) Help me spread the JeLu love~!

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