One Of The Boys

Homer

He walked along with her, eyes still on the clouds, obeying her orders. She navigated, walking him around holes in the sidewalk or around corners they had to dip into. He blinked at Lucy's response, still not getting it. "You're already pretty."

Lucy pressed her lips together, thankful that Natsu couldn't see how red her face was. She tried to hide the sheepish smile on her face. "Prettier with makeup."

Natsu's eyes flickered down, and he pulled her back, stopping their forward progression. Lucy turned, expression filled with surprise, seeing the seriousness on Natsu's face. "Don't say that."

Cheeks going red, she mumbled, "Okay," and continued on towards home, him close behind.

After a few quiet minutes, Natsu sighed. "We're never gonna make it to school on time, y'know."

"I know. Worth it, though."

"Let's just not go!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "You wanna skip?"

He winked at her; she tried to stop her heart from having a spasm. "Yes."

Lucy shrugged. "Okay, hooligan. Let's skip."

And so, they did. They still went back to Lucy's house—she refused to go without showering—and Natsu laid on her bed and played on her laptop till she had finished.

Seeing him laying on her bed flooded her mind with memories of her past. She'd usually be in the bathroom after a day of running around, putting a bandaid on a bloody knee or digging a sliver out of her palm, and he'd be right there, flopped down on her bed, waiting.

The memories made her smile at first—but then, she began to frown. She thought about the memories in more depth. They were happy, on the outside, but the further you got into the memories, the more they began to sting.

They'd play baseball and have sleepovers and whatnot, and she'd spent every single second of the day thinking about Natsu and how great he was and how cute he was. She'd been totally infatuated with him, and he'd clearly not had a clue. But all of those memories, they were all tarnished by those unreciprocated feelings.

Every baseball game, every day at the pond, every adventure they'd ever gone on—all of those memories were ruined. Because no matter what they did, she'd still gone home every night and sighed heavily and dreamt about dating Natsu. And, as Lucy now knew, he'd broken her heart and sent her packing.

The more she thought about the memories—now, every single one of them tainted—the more a fire grew in her belly. She'd been ignored and treated like a little brother her entire friendship with Natsu, and she'd left in order to not be seen like that ever again. She didn't want to be the little brother to anyone anymore, she wanted to be more than that.

And so, Lucy decided that she was going to be as innocently sexy as possible. Nothing drastic, of course—she wasn't trying to seduce him. No, she just wanted him to want her. Revenge for ignoring her all of those years. So, she'd push it. Make herself as attractive as possible. Be as adorable as she could. And if he wanted her, if he gave her a yearning look or anything like that, she'd know her change was successful.

Maybe it was mean, but she didn't really care. She wanted to know she had changed; she wanted to know that she had the ability to make men swoon at her feet. But there was one boy in particular that she wanted to fall at her feet—the one that she felt like she had to prove herself to.

The pink haired boy on her bed.

So, she came out an hour later, looking absolutely ravishing—hair clean and curly, makeup blended to perfection—in just a towel.