3: Natsu

Without warning Lucy shied away from me. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I- I ca... This doesn't feel right," she informed me and quickly made her way off the ice. "Wait-? What about our book report?" I questioned, but she was already gone. She don't seem like a monster to me. She seems fragile. What happened to her? The thoughts crept up within me. A hand rested upon my shoulder. To my left stood a grinning Gray. He skipped the formality and went straight to the point. "No offense dude, but you and she [snorting selfishly] is never going to happen." That's the kind of command that only a jackass could give. What did she even see in this coward? "Sure mate, whatever makes you sleep at night," I stated calm and collected. Gray snatched his hand back as if I just burned him and got all defensive: "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" I faced him head on. "Are you not familiar with that term? It's a figure of speech. A symbol of respect," I spat. Did this guy cheated his way through middle school? His eyes turned just as cold as the surface beneath our feet. "Who do you think you are, being all smarty pants with me?" He questioned rudely and shoved me harshly. I lost my balance and fell down. I need to keep my cool. I wouldn't want to lose myself so early at our new destination. I've promised my brother that I would not start a fight and this is me keeping true to my word. "I've introduced myself in class. It's not my problem if you haven't paid attention. Don't get me wrong but as I understand it, you're history, so she's fair game bro." I stated clearly as I picked myself up from the coldness. "Stop it Gray! You know that Lucy hates it when you fight," the red head from class demands, as she came out of nowhere. A few others I recognize followed close behind. "And why should I care what she likes or not?" Another rude answer escapes his mouth. She gave him an evil little grin. "Mind telling me about the blue haired girl, Gray?" It's as if she knew exactly which buttons to push to get him annoyed. "It's none of your damn business!" He screeched and stormed off. "Just ignore him. I'm Erza by the way," she ended introducing herself. Before I could say anything at all she added: "I have this suspicion that he might be second guessing himself." Levi were next to jump into the conversation. "No surprise there. I mean, they had been dating for six years." My eyes grew in size. Six years? Wow!

That explains a lot. She looked so sad when we skated together. As if Levi could read my mind she braced my silent mode. "It used to be their thing. Skating together. They were the best that this town had seen in years." I swallowed at the lump in my throat. A beautiful white haired girl, a stranger to me, joined in. "They got bronze at last year's winter Olympics." I wanted to ask her who she is but she quickly saved me from asking, when she introduced herself as Lisanna, our homeroom teacher's little kid sister. She can't be much younger than me. "So we sucked?" I asked it as it is. There's no need to sugarcoat it after all. "On the contrary, you skate very good together," Erza's answer came as a shock to me. "Totally bro, you might actually be able to give Gray a run for his money," the guy with the studs, who I came to recognize as Gajeel, confessed.

That blonde enchantress will be mine to love and to cherish. I have always been determined. It's not always easy to keep true to my word, due to certain events which had happened in my past. But Lucy may just as well be an exception. In the meantime Erza offered me a spot in their little group and I excepted eagerly. "So what do you guys do for fun around here?" I asked the most obvious. Levi were first to respond in a chirpy manner, "There's a beach party coming up soon." Lisanna followed her, "Saturday karaoke nights at Lucy's." "Don't forget about the talent competition!" Erza sang. We burst out in bubbles of laughter. "The formal school dance," Gajeel stated. He folded his arms around the tiny girl and said, "I can't wait to take you Shorty." She turned a dark shade of scarlet.

Jurika! That's awesome.... A lot of opportunities for her to fall for me. A lot of changes to practice 'how not to run away.' I'm anything but a scared little puppy. Ever since that age old event, I haven't had a girlfriend. This isn't a game just to prove that I would have the last laugh. No, that's not the way to a girl's heart. I hope that when the day comes, her heart would be mine for the taking. When that day comes, I won't shatter it like he had done.