Chapter 4

Hand delving into the depths of her purse, Lucy let her fingers brush against the strange texture of the scarf she'd somehow managed to stuff in there, searching the people walking by for Levy. After a long texting conversation, they had agreed to meet outside of the Rozlyn Cafe. Lucy knew where it was and there were no risks of her getting lost while trying to find them. Levy had told her they - she and her boyfriend - would meet her there at noon.

Noon was here, and now Lucy found herself alone, waiting hopefully for the people that had yet to show up. This was only the second time since coming to Fiore that she'd agreed to meet with someone other than her editor. And she was admittedly excited.

She'd brought the scarf for one reason and one reason only - she was silently hoping she'd see that pink-haired jerk so that she could return it and be done with him. So far, however, she hadn't had any luck, and she was disappointed about that. She really was ready to be done with her strange obsession over him…

"Lu!"

The strange nickname had her head snapping around, recognizing both it and Levy's voice instantly. The small blue-haired woman had begun to call her it last night over texting. Lucy's lips spread into a huge smile. "Levy!" she called when she saw her. She waved, then paused at the sight of a tall dark-haired man beside her.

To put it simply, Gajeel Redfox was not who she'd imagine her new friend to be dating. Piercings galore with long wild black hair and red eyes that gave her the chills. Each hand wore a glove that was cuffed to his wrist by some piece of metal, and the dark clothes he wore were ripped and torn at the edges - particularly the long jacket he wore. He wore a headband of some sorts, and Lucy had the distinct feeling he wore it to make the small woman beside him happy.

Levy danced over to greet Lucy easily, Gajeel approaching with a wary look. He gazed at Lucy for a few moments, as if judging whether or not he was going to like her, and then suddenly smirked. Lucy blinked. Was it just her, or were those canine teeth of his sharper than the average person's…?

"Lucy, this is Gajeel," Levy introduced, waving towards him. "Gajeel, this is Lucy...be nice," she warned, voice suddenly dark and threatening. But then she was cheerful again, clasping her hands together with a happy hum. "Ready? We're going to go see the church, and then I'm going to show you another popular place we can eat at...and then we're going to the bookstore. Oh! And Gajeel promised to pay for everything but the books."

Lucy eyed Gajeel nervously. His eyes narrowed in response, and Lucy's widened when she realized that his pupils weren't exactly like a normal person's. In this light, they looked more like black slits…

Shaking her head to clear it, she turned her attention back on Levy. "Uh, okay. That works for me. I won't be able to buy too many books, though...they'll have to fit in my suitcase."

Levy waved the blonde's concerns off. "Don't worry, Lu, if you can't fit some, I'm more than happy to send them to you. Come on, let's get going." She smiled brilliantly, gently grabbing Gajeel's arm and tugging him forward.

Gajeel snorted, draping an arm so that his elbow was on her head and he leaned on her. "Hold on just a second, Shrimp," he muttered, red eyes glowing with amusement. They locked on Lucy, who blinked in confusion. "I got what you wanted. Why do I need to go with now?"

She puffed up in anger. "Please?" she pleaded, though she glared at him while doing so. "Come on, you were gone for a hell of a long time this time!"

"Not my fault you didn't come," he growled in response. Literally growled. Lucy stared at him. Yep, there was definitely something off about this man. "You could have come with me. Ya chose not to."

"Because Jet and Droy needed me for another job," Levy retorted, crossing her arms. Gajeel scowled furiously at the names, and Lucy had the feeling that they were the names of men. "Anyways." She glanced at Lucy, her cheeks flushing as she realized they were arguing in front of her. "You promised."

He heaved out a heavy sigh. "Fine, Shorty. But when you hit the bookstore, I'm out."

"Yay!" Levy squealed. Lucy giggled at the interaction, and Levy spared her a wink before grabbing Gajeel's hand and tugging him forward again. "Come on, Lu, places to go, people to see...sorta. We might run into a few people I know where we're going today…"

Lucy laughed and waved them forward. "Lead the way, Levy."

Levy beamed and started forward.

Lucy learned a lot of things about Levy and Gajeel while they were out exploring Magnolia. For one, they were the complete opposites of each other. The short Levy was cheerful, constantly speaking, and pointing out every little thing. Gajeel was silent, often times glaring at Lucy out of the corner of his eye in a suspicious way, and when he pointed something out, it was usually something that nobody would have ever thought to mention.

In other words, Lucy had a good time at the same time that she just wanted to go hide in the room she'd rented for her trip. She'd offered to drive them all around since Gajeel was paying for everything - but the books, as she'd been reminded - and neither of them had disagreed.

Every now and then her hand would dip into her purse and skim that scarf, and her dark eyes would skim the area around them for a certain pink-haired man. But every single time, she came up blank. By the end of the day, Lucy was ready to shout her frustrations to the sky. She was annoyed beyond belief that she still had this damn scarf, just hanging out in her already stuffed purse.

"Hey, Lucy!" The young blonde woman glanced up, amused by what she found. Levy stood there, her arms completely empty, but behind her, his eyes glaring accusingly at Lucy, was Gajeel with his arms completely full of books. Looks like Levy had found quite a few books she liked… "We're going to check out and head home…" So they lived together? "Are you okay to head back alone?"

"Yeah," Lucy agreed firmly, shooting Levy a reassuring smile. "I've got getting back handled. Go ahead. I'm going to skim through these bookshelves for a few more minutes, see if there's anything else I want to take home. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," she agreed. "I think Mira will be joining us, by the way. Gajeel mentioned she had been talking to our Ma-" A pause. "Our boss about getting some time off."

Lucy pretended not to hear Levy's mistake, but locked that curious bit of information away for later use. Definitely something going on with these people, all of which supported the mark that showed them to be a part of the group Levy had mentioned. "Great! You're welcome to come again, too, Gajeel," she added.

He smirked. "Nah. I got some faces to pound in."

"...lovely." Lucy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

After they'd left, Lucy went back to skimming through the books before her. Not too long later, she was walking out of the bookstore, two books tucked under her arm, her purse slung over her shoulder, and her dark eyes full of curiosity for the town around her. She loved it here.

She was just beginning to contemplate whether or not moving here would be good for her writing and her publisher, digging in her pockets for the keys to the rental car, when a hand suddenly slammed over her mouth. She gave a muffled cry of surprise as she was hauled backwards, a voice hissing delightedly in her ear, "Found you!"

She fought furiously to free herself, even going so far as to bite the hand over her mouth. When that happened, there was a curse, and she was released. Lucy whirled around immediately, her brown eyes glittering with rage and fear. She opened her mouth to snarl at the one who'd attacked her - only for the words to die in her mouth.

Standing before her was someone who could barely pass as human. Their form was humanoid, but their features were twisted, their skin blackened by something that Lucy couldn't even begin to figure out. Ragged clothes had been placed on their body carelessly - the shirt wasn't even all the way on - and eyes gleamed maliciously from a scrunched up face.

And, to top it all off, there was sparks coming from his fingers, as if his hands were tasers rather than hands.

Lucy contemplated her chances of running from the terrifying person before her. Zero percent of escape, she admitted silently, shoving her books as best as she could into her purse, contemplating how effective it would be as a weapon.

"Found you," he crooned again, his voice disgustingly sweet and happy. Spittle dripped down his chin and Lucy made a face. His gaze suddenly hardened, serious, his lips spreading into a massive grin. "Time to go home, Miss Heartfilia."

She balked. Wait...what?!

Wham!

The attacker was suddenly down, clutching his face with a groan. Lucy blinked, astonished.

Suddenly standing between her and the one that had attacked her was none other than the pink-haired guy she'd seen days before in Crocus, Natsu. He was shaking a fist, as if punching the guy had pained him, and he was muttering under his breath. He shot Lucy a look over his shoulder - and then stared right back at her. "What the…you're the weirdo who nearly ran me over!"

"Who cares!" Lucy squealed as the strange man with taser hands climbed to his feet, a snarl on his face. "Help me, already!"

"Fine, but you owe me," he muttered in response, giving her a withering look. He reached up as if to tug at something that wasn't there and for a brief moment, she thought she saw despair on his face. But then it was gone, a twisted expression appearing as he glanced at her again. "Fairy Tail?"

"...excuse me?"

"...ugh, you freaking suck, weirdo." He made a face, looking disappointed about something Lucy didn't dare begin to try and understand as he grinned broadly at the man. She realized then that rather than dressed in the weird clothes he'd been wearing last time, he was clothed in a simple T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Lucy let her lips slip into a pout. Excuse her for not understanding gibberish!

When the attacker came at him, hands sparking, Natsu only flinched, not stopping before slamming a fist under the guy's jaw. He ducked to avoid a returning blow, and then swept his feet out from under him. Natsu scowled, eyes flashing with annoyance. "You owe me big time, weirdo."

"My name isn't "weirdo", it's Lucy," Lucy gritted out, biting her lip. He didn't seem to think fighting and getting rid of this guy was a big deal...just how often did he go around beating people up?

"Whatever."

Wham!

The attacker was knocked out with a single blow.

Lucy stared at the two for a moment, then said faintly, "Thank you for helping me, I think...uh, what are you doing?"

Natsu had grabbed the attacker by the hair - Lucy tried not to flinch - and was proceeding to drag him down the alley. "Taking him to some official people so I don't have to worry 'bout him anymore."

"Hold on a second," Lucy protested, scurrying to shove her hand into her purse. Ignoring the books that hit the ground, she withdrew the scarf she'd shoved into it before her time out with Levy and Gajeel. "This is yours, right?"

He froze, onyx eyes snapping wide at the sight of it. He dropped his hold on the attacker, seeming to completely forget about him for the time being as he approached her, hands reaching out. He gently took the scarf, astonished. "How the hell…"

"The wind blew it at me," Lucy admitted. "You lost it in Crocus, right? I saw you wearing it, and figured I might as well keep it in case I saw you again. Such a weird material...what's it made of?"

He didn't answer her question, only quickly wrapped it around his neck. A huge grin spread across his face, eyes dancing happily as he beamed at her. "Thanks, weirdo!"

"Lucy," Lucy corrected, rolling her eyes. She cast a wary look at the man he'd knocked out. He'd known her name...her real name, not her pen name...that was more than just a little concerning. It meant changing countries again, and she really didn't want to do that. "My name's Lucy…thank you," she said honestly. "I don't know what that was about, but thanks."

He grinned. "My name's Natsu." Not that she didn't already know, but he didn't need to know that. He seemed like a completely different person than the one with the attitude she'd seen before. That might have been because she'd decided to return his scarf, she supposed...and if it was that, fine with her! "And don't worry about this guy," he added, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the unconscious man. "I got him. S'what I do." He paused, wrinkling his nose. "You been hanging with Metal Breath and Levy?" He leaned closer, and Lucy blinked when she realized he was smelling her. "...huh. Okay."

"Um…?" Lucy stared at him in bewilderment.

Acting as if he had no idea she was confused, Natsu retreated back to the attacker and gave Lucy a final wave. "See you around, weirdo! Thanks for finding my scarf! And don't hang around, some other bastard might attack ya."

And then he was gone, and Lucy was alone in an alleyway with confusion evident on her face as she moved to pick up what she'd dropped.

Something was definitely weird...she had some research to do. Again. Not surprising, she always seemed to have research to do nowadays.

But now she had a new keyword, and one she recognized.

Fairy Tail, huh? she thought as she hurried back to her car.

Thank the heavens she'd remembered her laptop.

Reintroducing Natsu again, this time with a bit more being involved on his part. Thank you so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows, you make my day! :D

Reviews:

Kitty Mcgarden- Redfox: I'd hope that she likes him. XD Not a good thing when you're not fond of someone you're in a relationship with. Lol.

ghostbones: I'm glad you think so! Finally an official meeting between the two, eh?

Haus of Lexy: Here you go! :D

Kinsutenekochan: Natsu lost his scarf, but now he's found it again! ...huh. Should probably explain how he lost it at one point. Lol. XD

silver light of dawn: You'll have to wait and see about those questions! I promise you the answers are coming VERY soon. ;)

Compucles: I like your choice in words there. "Muggle" is the perfect way to describe any non-magic folk, yes?

fanficlove2014: Ah, the Rozlyn Cafe. Named after a favorite child of mine that's practically family. Fun little meetings are fun...for now. ;)

Sara lovelymusic: This. This right here. This made me laugh so hard I was near tears in the middle of lunch with people around me. I don't know why, but I thank you a lot for this review. XD

NaLu x Buckets: Just wait. Things are gonna get more interesting soon enough. Lol.