"Luce. Luce, wake up."
Lucy flinched away from the sounds, curling up tighter into her blankets. She was uncomfortable and her bed was really fucking hard and she was freezing cold, but she was way too tired to get up. She wouldn't be able to function at school with such a low level of energy; she'd have to skip it today.
Something nudged her. "Holy fuck—Luce! Wake up!" The voice was impatient, now.
"Shaddup," She murmured back, not opening her eyes.
She could hear stifled laughter. "Lucy, I'm serious. You really need to wake up."
Lucy frowned. "I'm tired, Natsu."
"I know you're tired. But have you forgotten where we are?"
She pondered his sentence for a couple long moments, thinking about it. What was that supposed to mean? Oh—right. She'd hung out with him last night, when she couldn't sleep. They'd gone for a walk, and laid down in the middle of the old baseball diamond and watched the stars, just like they used to when they were kids.
Her brown eyes snapped open when the realization hit her.
They hadn't left. They'd fallen asleep in the grass, on the field. They were still there.
A pink haired boy was standing over her, leaning over so that his face was close to her own; his lips were twisted up into a sly smirk, and he watched her with amusement. "Morning, sunshine."
Lucy pushed herself forward, and Natsu stepped back, still grinning down at her. "Jesus!" She hissed, glancing around. Cars drove by on the nearby street; kids were on the sidewalk pointing at them. "What time is it?"
He shrugged. "I dunno—there's school busses goin' around, so I figure it's just about time for school."
"Oh." Lucy nodded for a moment, and then another realization hit her. "Oh my god—I have to get home before school!"
Natsu made a face. "I don't think we have time to go back."
Lucy glared at the ground, appalled that she'd let this happen. "I have to get ready! I have to shower, and do my hair, and do my makeup, and pick out an outfit..."
"Luce—we have like five minutes. It's an eight minute walk. You'll never make it in time."
She looked up at Natsu, and he blinked down at her. Then, she realized that he was staring right at her—before she was all beautified. Her hands flew up to her face, covering herself. "Gah—don't look at me."
He gazed at her, head cocking to the side in confusion. "Why not?"
Lucy peeked through her fingers, cringing when she noticed him still watching. "Look away!"
Natsu obeyed her, eyes turning up to the clouds. He was still confused. "I don't get it."
Once she was satisfied he wasn't looking at her, she dropped her hands. "My hair's probably a mess, and—oh, god, I'm not wearing makeup. No one deserves to see that."
Natsu's eyebrows tugged down, annoyed. "I've seen you without makeup since you were five years old."
Lucy hauled herself up to a standing position. "Yeah, well, not anymore."
That bothered him. "Why do you have to wear makeup?"
She sighed, grabbing his wrist and tugging him along. She fully intended to get cleaned up before entering the school—there was no way she was walking in all greasy, stinky and wearing her pyjamas. "So I look pretty."
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.
Natsu cringed instantly, trying his best to play it off cool. Yeah, sure, something like this wouldn't have phased him a couple years back—it was Lucy, for god's sake—but now, after her being gone for so long...yeah, it made him blush. But he pretended it didn't bother him, and continued playing on her laptop, hoping he looked chill as fuck.
Meanwhile, Lucy was absolutely dying inside. Jesus, he barely even looked at her—had he even noticed she just in a fucking towel? God, it was cold out here. She mentally noted that she shouldn't bend down—if she did, she'd moon Natsu.
Why didn't he care? Lucy wasn't one to toot her own horn, but she wasn't awful looking, not after all those damn classes at the prep school. So why the hell was he just looking at the laptop, looking...bored?
Lucy's face flushed with anger and frustration and embarrassment. But, she was determined to make him crack, make him notice her in the way he never had in the past.
"Hey, Natsu?" She called out, voice dainty and soft.
He swallowed. "What's up?" He glanced over, blinking twice when he saw Lucy—in the towel. Fuck—holding up two dresses.
"Help me pick?" Lucy said, blinking her eyelashes at him.
Natsu stared at her for a minute, face blank, then looked to the dresses in her hands. After another long, empty glance at each dress, he mumbled out a few words, then returned to the laptop. "The blue one."
Lucy's jaw dropped, shocked. Here she was in a fucking towel—which, by the way, was awfully short on her thigh—asking him to pick what outfit she wore, and he'd barely cared.
Maybe he was gay? Like, actually? Was she really so unattractive that she couldn't even get anything out of the guy?
But him not being attracted to women wouldn't explain him kissing Lisanna at the dance so long ago, so she let the idea slide.
Grumpy, she headed to the bathroom and changed into the dress Natsu picked, frowning the entire time. When she returned, he was still playing on her laptop; she flopped down on the bed beside him, making a point of jutting her chest out directly in his eyeline.
The boy didn't even accidentally look at her rather obvious cleavage; no, instead, his eyes flickered directly up to hers. She wasn't sure if she should be proud of him for being so respectful or be annoyed with him.
"So, what you wanna do today?" Natsu asked, chipper.
She wanted to die. "How about a movie?"
"Sounds good to me." Natsu tapped into her laptop, knowing exactly where to locate all of the movies; she always downloaded them and saved them in the exact same spot. A couple seconds later, he frowned. "They're all sappy ones."
"Oh." Lucy blinked. They always used to watch action and thriller movies—she'd ditched those and opted for romcoms once she was introduced to her prep school friends. "Shoot. Sorry. I didn't think to get some action-y ones."
He shoved the laptop in her direction. "You pick. I don't know what's good."
For a second, Lucy felt bad. But then, she realized this was another moment to get her revenge on Natsu. She picked the sappiest, most heartfelt movie she had, and pulled her laptop between where they lay so they could both see.
If he didn't get all sappy and romantic watching this, then he was a robot.
But, an hour and a half later, when the movie had ended and Lucy was sobbing, Natsu was sitting there, expression still blank.
"You're a monster—how are you not sad?"
Natsu's face twisted up into a funny expression, and he pointed at the laptop with his hands. "I mean, it was okay, I just don't get it."
"How do you not get it? It's romantic and cute and sad and perfect!"
Natsu's lips were twisted into a grin; he shrugged. "Not my cup of tea, I guess."
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, grumbling under her breath about how dumb he was. Was this guy a robot? A machine? First, he doesn't care about her in a fucking towel, then he doesn't care about her in this hot little number she had on, and now he doesn't even bat an eye at the most upsetting movie Lucy had ever seen?
He was ridiculous—and her plan to make him crack and beg at her knees was definitely not working out.
Now, Natsu decided it was his turn to pick the activity, since Lucy had made such a rotten decision. And he'd picked baseball. Lucy had cringed—sports—but figured it was fair. She'd changed out of her dress into a pair of daisy dukes and a low-cut, tight black tank, hoping it'd catch his eye or something.
So, they made their way to the diamond, stopping off at Natsu's house for a second to grab a ball, a bat and a glove, and off they went. He pitched to Lucy first—she told him to take it slow—and she'd swung with little to no effort.
"Shucks," She said sarcastically, letting the bat hang awkwardly in her hands.
Natsu shook his head. "Don't do that—I know you know how to play."
Lucy shrugged. "I forgot."
"You don't just forget how to swing, Luce."
Natsu's dark eyes met hers, and he didn't seem impressed; the feeling bore into Lucy's stomach, making her feel almost ashamed. He didn't care about her sex appeal. He didn't care for her playing the girly card, not playing the game like she knew she should. And it bothered her.
She didn't like the look in his eyes, the passive, neutral glance that clearly expressed that her sudden 'inability' to play baseball or her shorty shorts didn't really impress him much. It made her self-conscious, and she felt like she was back in third grade: no confidence and trying to hopelessly impress a particular pink haired boy.
"C'mon, Luce—just play. For me?"
So, she did.
He pitched, and she swung; her actions were fluent, ingrained into her muscle memory. She'd done this far too many times to forget—Natsu had been right. She had the bat at the perfect angle, the perfect speed as it collided with the ball; a crack rang through the air, and Lucy already knew the outcome to that hit.
Homer. It flew over the back fence, far past anything she was capable of in her younger years. A sly grin worked its way onto her lips—she had to admit, it felt good to bat again—as she watched Natsu's face light up.
His eyes were bright and his jaw dropped, and he turned to look at the blonde on home plate. "Holy shit, Luce—that was awesome! First hit, too!"
Lucy shrugged, trying to ignore the conflict in her mind. Her tomboy side was cheering; her girly side was screaming in anguish, appalled at what she'd just done. One of the first things she'd learned in prep school: don't play sports. Breaks your nails, deteriorates your womanly elegance. And she'd just gone and done it.
But she was desperate to make Natsu want her, desperate for that hint of revenge for all of those years she loved him, and she was just about willing to do anything. The urge to see him grovel at her knees was strong, and she desperately wanted to see a look of yearning or lust in his eyes. Clearly, stripping down to practically nothing didn't work. Nothing worked. So she'd done this.
But, she could tell by the look in his eyes, batting hadn't done the trick either. No, it wasn't lust in his eyes—it was the look she'd grown to know from Natsu. The look of friendship. Family. Like she was a little brother.
So, she dropped the bat, deciding right then and there that she was going to push her sex appeal onto him as much as she possibly could. It was the only way—she would break him.
Lucy bent down, making sure to stick her ass out, and tied her shoe; when she came back out, she pressed her chest out, hands reaching up and messing around with her hair, peering over at him.
He was looking at his baseball mitt. She nearly punched herself in the face.
A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, pinky! Nice to see you make it to class."
Lucy turned, surprised to see three boys—two with black hair, one with blonde—making their way towards the baseball diamond. Then, after a second, it hit her: she knew those boys. Those boys were also surrounding her in her childhood—although, not nearly as much as Natsu had been. Gray, Gajeel and Laxus. She'd spent tons of nights with them and Natsu playing ball or swimming in the pond.
They were all looking at her, expressions interested but a little shy. So, she put her prep school confidence skills into practice and greeted them herself. She took a couple steps forward, hips swaying, and gave them her most charming grin. "Hi boys—it's been a while."
Their faces lit up, glad to be acknowledged by her rather than awkwardly reintroducing themselves.
"Hey, Lucy." Gajeel gave her a little wave.
Laxus gave her a nod; he'd never been a man of many words.
Gray seemed the most comfortable in her presence, a smile on his lips. "So it really is you—we saw you in class yesterday, and Natsu knew it was you right away, but we didn't believe him."
Lucy frowned. "You guys were there, too? I never saw any of you."
Natsu crossed his arms, muttering something about her being blind as a bat.
"Speaking of class," Gray said, turning his gaze to Natsu. "You're both skipping. Shame on you."
Natsu glanced up at the sun. "It's only around one o'clock. Which means you're skipping too."
"Had to come check up on ya. But if I'd known you were with Lucy..." Gray trailed off, turning to look at the blonde. "I would've given you some more alone time."
Lucy's cheeks went a little red, and she peeked over at Natsu; his face was blank and he shrugged. Lucy's heart dropped, and she set her eyes on the ground.
"We're just playing ball. Lucy hit a homer."
"You're kidding." Gray seemed amused by this; to him, he couldn't work it out. In his mind, there were two Lucy's: old Lucy and pretty Lucy. He couldn't imagine pretty Lucy even holding a bat.
Lucy noticed his reaction, and it sat wrong with her. He didn't think she could hit a homer. But wasn't that the point? Wasn't that the intention of going all girly—not being the little brother figure anymore?
She shook it off, taking Gray's disbelief as a compliment instead. That just meant she was pulling off the part of girly girl to perfection. Clearly, Gray could see her sex appeal—so why couldn't Natsu? Lucy tried to brainstorm ideas to make Natsu want her whilst the boys chatted about baseball and MLB.
As the boys talked, Lucy couldn't help but notice Gray's eyes flickering back to her, trying to subtly sneak a peek at her face or her chest or her legs. His cheeks were a little red—he seemed a little shy—and he blinked several times after he snuck a glance at her.
She was flattered, but then she realized there was one sure fire way to make Natsu realize that she was loveable, that she was attractive and not at all like a brother.
Lucy was going to flirt with Gray.