A NaLu Valentine

A NALU VALENTINE
After a tiring week of fighting with the Sabertooth Academy, we were so blessed with a hot and sunny day with a bright blue sky, when it was supposed to be winter.
My name is Lucy Heartfillia and I entered Fairy Tail Academy when I found out that my childhood friend, Natsu Dragneel, was studying there. At first we were so inseparable which made the other students to tease us a lot. They thought that we have an intimate kind of relationship, when in fact we are just each other’s best friend. But as I got to know more of the female students, we rarely ever do things together. I went with my close friend, Levy McGarden along with the student council president, Mirajane Strauss and her sister, Lisanna Strauss, the class representative, Erza Scarlet, and Wendy Marvel. Juvia Lockser joins us from time to time when she’s not busy stalking Gray Fullbuster, one of Natsu’s close friends. Natsu, on the other hand, went with his own group of male friends. There’s Gray Fullbuster whom Natsu bickers with most of the time, like a grade-schooler, Elfman Strauss, And GajeelRedfox who seems to be a tsundere and probably has a crush on Levy. Most of the time, Romeo Conbolt joins them. Romeo seems to have an admiration for Natsu.
It’s a short walk to the Academy and I take my time trying to remember the hotness of the sun, in case it remembers that it is supposed to be winter and starts snowing later on. Just then someone tapped my shoulder and said, “Ohayo Lu-chan!” in a voice I’d recognize anywhere. “Ohayo Levy-chan!” I replied with a cheerful smile. “How come I rarely see you with Natsu lately?” Levy asked with a grin. I blush at the thought of Natsu.
NATSU’S POV
As I walk to the Academy I saw Lucy and Levy walking together. I wanted to surprise Lucy, but it turns out that I am the one who’s surprised by Levy’s question to Lucy. I was curious about her answer so I decided to listen in on a bit of their chit-chat. “It’s just that…” Lucy seems to be fidgeting and Levy’s grin is so wide. I grabbed Lucy’s shoulders and whispers to her ear. “Ohayo Lucy!” She shivers and I turn to face Levy and greeted her with a “Ohayo Levy-chan” “Lu-chan what’s wrong?” Levy asks. I turned to face Lucy and saw bright tinges of pink on her cheeks. A blushing Gajeel comes to my mind. “Oh Levy. Gajeel said that he wanted to talk to you at the garden” I told Levy. “Oh okay. I’ll go ahead then. You two take you time.” She leaves with a grinning face. When I turned to face Lucy, I notice her inspecting my bandages. “This is from my fight with Sting and Rogue” I said. “You always overdo things” Lucy said. I smiled and told her, “I’ll be fine. Anyway, you’re always there to take care of me”. She smiled back at me and the bell rang. “Oh crap! We’re late” I offered my hand to her and said “Let’s go”. She took my hand and we started to make a run for it.
LUCY’S POV
Luckily we made it to the classroom just before Professor Macao, Romeo’s dad, arrived. Natsu and I sit beside each other at the back of the class. Well, it was supposed to be Jet who’s sitting beside me by the window, but Natsu wanted to sit beside me and at the same time be by the window. Anyway, Loki, also known as Leo, the school’s number one playboy, sits in front of me, while the seat on my right is empty. The door slid open and Professor Macao came in. “Good Morning class!” he greeted us.  We all stood up and greeted him back with a “Good Morning Professor”. He motioned us to sit down and we all did. “Now class, this might be shocking to you, but we have transfer students from Sabertooth Academy”. Some gasped and some started to whisper to each other. “Now, quiet down class. The chairman accepted them and he is expecting them to be accepted warmly. You may come in now.” The door opened and four people (who were Sting Eucliff, YukinoAgria, Rouge and Rufus) with two exceeds (Lector and Frosch) came in. “Please introduce yourself to the class” Macao told the transfer students. “Oh there’s no need to introduce them” Gajeel said in an annoyed voice. “Gajeel!” I heard Levy say under her breath. “Yeah, that’s right! We already know who they are” Natsu agreed to Gajeel. “Natsu! Don’t be like that! They’ve change” I tell him. “Why not?” Natsu whined. “Now class! Please settle down!” Erza said with an authorizing tone. Everyone fell death silent and Erza turned to face Macao. “Please continue Professor” “Thank you Scarlet-san. Now, since everyone seems to know who you are, just find a place that you like” Macao told the transferees. Just then, Sting walked to the empty seat beside me and said in a whisper, “Is it alright if I seat beside you. You know since you’re the only one who understands our situations”. I nodded and he sat down beside me. Natsu punched his table, looking annoyed, and stormed out of the classroom. “Oi! Natsu! Wher are you going?!” I called to him but he ignored me. I was about to go after him when Sting he caught a hold of my left wrist an d said, with a serious face, “Leave him alone for now. He’s just trying to clear his head.” His serious face turned into a cheerful one and he continued, “Hope we would have a great time together”. That calmed me down and made me sit back to my chair and classes resumed.
NATSU’S POV
I ran to the rooftop and lied down on the ground and thought, ‘Why did I just storm off like? And I even ignored Lucy! What would she do?’ I covered half of my face with my right arm and thought of all the possible things Lucy might do to me. After some minutes of thinking, I fell asleep.
LUCY’S POV
The bell rang, signaling the time for our lunch break. “Thank you, class. That is all for this morning” Professor Wakaba, our chemistry teacher said. Without any second thought, I ran to the door. “Oi! Lu–chan! Wait for me” Levy shouted to me. I turned to look back at Levy and replied, “Gomen Levy-chan! Please eat without me today!”. After that I ran leaving Levy speechless. ‘Was it just me…or did Sting look annoyed back there?’ I thought. Anyway, my instincts brought me in front of the rooftops door. I held the doorknob and was catching my breath. I turned the knob and opened the door. I searched through the rooftop and saw Natsu at a corner, sleeping. I went to sit beside him. I couldn’t stop staring at the peacefully, cute~looking, sleeping Natsu. I decided to slowly place Natsu’s head on my lap and I started playing with his hair, like how we used to.
NATSU’S POV
I felt my head moved a little elevated and someone’s warmth on my forehead. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing that I saw was a startled Lucy. “Oh, I’m sorry did I wake you up?” she asked sweetly. Remembering the things that happened this morning, I quickly sat up and moved away from Lucy. “What’s wrong Natsu?” She asked me with a questioning look. “You’re not mad?” I answered her question with another one. “For what?” she asked back. “For what happened this morning”. She sighed and said, “Well…I WAS mad, but Sting calmed me down”. She smiled at me. I looked at her straight in the eye and asked, “Why are you even closed with that guy? He’s our enemy.” “USED to be our enemy”, she corrected me. The silence took over us. Lucy stood from where she was and sat beside me. “You want to know why I accept them for trsnsferring here?” she asked and I stayed silent. She sighed and continued, “Well…it was like this….”

~FALSHBACK~
LUCY’S POV
I sat down on a swing at the park. I was facing my lap, sobbing. It was around midnight so I thought that there were no people at the park. I kept on sobbing when I heard the bushes rustle. I thought it was just some animal so I didn’t look up. Just then, I heard some footsteps nearing me. I hurriedly wiped my tears away but I still looked down. The footsteps died away and I can see the shoes of the person standing in front of me. He went behind me and started slowly patting my back saying. “Don’t cry, it’s ok. Everything always happens for a reason. I think I’ve heard this voice before. “I’m not crying”, I said. “You may not be crying, but you werecrying.” He shot back. I stood up and faced the guy who was trying to comfort me. “STING?! What are YOU doing HERE?! You’re From Sabertooth” I asked almost too loudly. He quickly covered my mouth andplaced his pointer finger in front of his lips saying “Shh” as quietly as possible. He let go of my mouth and started looking around anxiously. I was about to summon Virgo, when he held my wrist (the hand that was holding the key) and said, “Wait. I’m not here to fight. I’m running away. Okay?” I shot a questioning look and asked, “Alone? Why would someone from Sabertooth be running away from someone? Let alone be scared of something to run away from it” I asked with a stern voice. “I’m not alone”, he said quietly. “I was running away with some other people. And we’re running away from our school. We wanted to quit but the master won’t let us…so now we’re running away.” He explained. “And why do you want to quit your school? I thought you guys loved it there?” He sighed and then continued to explain, “Look, we can’t take any more of the way they handle things in the academy. We don’t want any more of this fighting and becoming on top. They don’t want us to lose and if ever we lose, we get humiliated in front of the entire student body, just like what happened to Yukino. We finally opened our eyes to the reality of things. I finally realized that the strength of a person or a group of person does not rely on strength alone. It is also about how strong their bond is with each other. You believe in each other, you protect that people you care and love. You never abandon a friend in need. You give each other strength and courage.” His eyes were filled with inspiration. I was speechless. I mean, I really couldn’t believe that someone from Sabertooth Academy could say such words. It was so heartwarming. Just then, we heard another rustle of bushes. “Yo” he said plainly. It was Rogue. “What did you do this time Sting?” Rogue asked. “Hey, don’t cry! You’re making me feel worst” he said. Rogue handed me a white handkerchief and said, “Here, use this. I’m so sorry for whatever this idiot did to you”. I took his handkerchief while saying, “Thank You” and wiped my tears away. “I’m sorry for crying” I told Sting. “What are you talking about? If anyone should say sorry, it’s me” he compromised. Rogue nodded. I gave them both a cheerful smile. “I mean I’m so sorry for judging you. I was just taken over by my feelings toward Sabertooth that I overlooked the fact that people could change. I’m so sorry.” I said. “I told you, it’s okay. If I was you I would have probably doubted myself too.” He said. “tck” We heard a twig crack. “Sting” an exceed, who is Lector, said as he ran to hug Sting. They looked so cute while hegging each other, they almost looked like Natsu and Happy. And then it hit me. I stared at Sting. I noticed that he has a resemblance to Natsu. I blush at the thought of Natsu. “Hey guys. What do you think about joining Faity Tail?” I asked them. “Really? I mean, won’t they be bothered by our presence.” Sting said with a doubtful tone. “He’s right.” Rogue plainly agreed. “Don’t worry, that won’t last for long. I mean, look at Gajeel. He used to be an enemy from Phantom Lord Academy. And he transferred to Fairy Tail Academy, upon the request of his childhood friend, Juvia. At first they hated the fact that he transferred, but when they noticed that he really did change for the better, he fitted there perfectly well. They just need some time to adjust to these kinds of changes. No need to worry” I explained. The sun was already rising. “Would you really appreciate it if we transferred? Thank you so much” He hugged me. I think it’s just because of his excitement. When I was about to hug him back, my stomach growled. Sting let me go and we both laughed. Rogue cleared his throat and we composed ourselves. “Wanna go grab some breakfast? My treat!” he said as he grabbed my hand. We were holding each other’s hands. I blush and thought, ‘How can he just casually hold my hand like that? I mean, yes we are friends, but we just met.’ Anyway he held my hand tightly and we searched for a place to eat. Rogue following us from behind and Lector flying above us. Strange, it feels as if I’m with Natsu, Gray and Happy.
~END OF FLASHBACK~
NATSU’S POV
“So you’re the one who asked them to transfer?!” I asked with a raised voice. “Well…Yeah” she replied quietly. “RIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!” The bell rang, signaling for the end of our lunch break. I sighed and stood up offering Lucy my hands. She hesitantly accepts it and we went to class. During class, I can’t help but feel annoyed at the fact that Sting and Lucy are so close. It feels as if he’s her childhood friend.
The next following days continued and Sting and Lucy kept on getting closer with each other. As they became closer, a feeling started to spark inside of me.
One day, during lunch break, the guys I eat with ate with the girls, along with Sting who seems to fit so well. Sting sat beside Lucy, Juvia beside Gray. Lisanna sat beside me. It seems like she wants to talk to me about something. At some point, I started staring at the direction of Lucy and Lisanna nudges me. After eating, Lisanna asked to talk to me alone.
LISANNA’S POV
“Natsu, just when do you plan on telling Lucy you true feelings?” I asked. Natsu just gave me a “HUH? What do you mean?” “Aren’t you in love with Lucy?” I asked him. He blushed and denied this fact by saying, “N-no I don’t! She’s just a childhood friend!” I grinned and said, “Oh, so why are you blushing? And why do you always seem like you’re staring at Lucy? And Why do you seem so jealous when Lucy’s with Sting?” I asked spontaneously. His cheeks turn into a deeper shade of pink. “No..it’s just that when I see them together I feel something that I can’t explain.” He’s being honest. I sighed and told him, “Natsu, that’s what you call JEA-LOU-SY. You’re jealous of Sting’s relationship with Lucy” I let out another sigh and continued, “Haven’t you still noticed it now Natsu? I mean how dense could you possibly be? You liked Lucy since middle school and I’m sick and tired of waiting for you two lovebirds to be together. Honestly! You two have to progress!” I explained. He was speechless. “I’ll leave you to think for yourself” I said as I left to give him some time.
LUCY’S POV
“Lu-chan, you promised!” Levy told me referring to our promise about going to the bookstore. “I know. Let’s just wait for a little bit more, I need to give Natsu something” I said. “Honestly! Where is that idiot? He’s been gone since this afternoon” I said under my breath. “What did you say Lu-chan?” Levy asked curiosly. “No-nothing” I said. After a few minutes….“How about just leaving it on his desk Lu-chan.It’s getting late.” Levy said impatiently. “Okay. Just wait for a while.” I said. I placed a tiny yellow box tied with a pink ribbon, with a note saying `Belated Happy Birthday…I’m sorry I forgot such an important day. You must be mad at me for forgetting when in fact you never, not even once, forgot my birthday`  “What is that for Lu-chan?” Levy asked curiously as she peaked on my shoulder. “It’s a birthday present for him” I replied. “Wait, isn’t his birthday done?” she asked with a confused look. “I know, I’m such an awful friend for forgetting the birthday of my own friend” I said sadly and we left.

NATSU’S POV
“ARGHH!!!” I shouted frustrated. I stood up and decided to go home. I went to the classroom to get some of my stuff. When I opened the door the first thing that caught my eye was a yellow box on my table. I went to take a closer look and found out that it was from Lucy. As I read the letter, I laughed softly. I opened the box and saw a key on a chain. As I looked closer I saw my name engraved on one face and Lucy’s on the other side. And that’s when I finally realized what Lisanna has been talking about. It was true. I went home and thought of something special.
The next day, I went to school early.
LUCY’S POV
I went to school early, since Sting asked me to meet him in the rooftop before classes begin. When I arrived at the rooftop, Sting was already there. He asked me to sit beside him and we were quiet for a while. “Uhm…Lucy do you have anyone special with you?” He asked with an embarrassed face. I blush and said, “I don’t have a special relationship with anyone. Well, there is someone, who I have special feelings for…I just don’t know if he feels the same way…”I trailed off in my words when we heard the door creak. It was Natsu. He looked from me to Sting then back at me. He looked pretty annoyed. “Hey Natsu, did you see the box on your table yesterday?” He nodded. Man, the silence was deafening. Sting and Natsu just kept on giving each other death glares. Luckily, the bell rang telling us to be ready for class.