Chapter Two

School was, in short, difficult.

Natsu cursed the blissfully ignorant kids who never had to move their entire lives; they never learned the struggle of being the new kid that everyone stares at your flashy pink hair.

One guy even shied away from him in the hallway, ducking his head down and whispering something along the lines of not wanting to anger the "new punk kid".

Natsu didn't even consider himself to be that punk, anyway. Just because he has a crazy color hair and wears all black does not make him punk. But hey, let the idiots think what they want to think. Perhaps giving himself a reputation isn't a bad thing.

Every class was the same idea; hand out syllabi, drone on and on for an hour about the expectations in and out of the classroom, and what they would be learning all year. By lunchtime, Natsu was fed up with the same spiel. Honestly, he couldn't help but bitterly think, They'd think after twelve years of the same thing that we'd get it by now.

Well, on the bright side, at least the day was half over.

Of course, Natsu didn't realize this was only the calm before the storm.

It wasn't too hard to find the school cafeteria, but it was proven more difficult to find Wendy, a petite freshman amidst the sea of gigantic upperclassmen. What was worse is she couldn't see him, meaning he was on his own to locate his sister in the crowded lunch room.

The first day's lunch seemed reasonable, and yet Natsu immediately didn't trust the cafeteria ladies because one wasn't wearing a hairnet and another was gloveless. He grabbed an apple and a carton of milk, assuming them to be safe. After some resistance grabbed some delicious-looking mozzarella sticks that he physically couldn't pass up, poor hygiene school or not.

Standing on his tiptoes, Natsu scanned the rows of cafeteria tables intently, looking for sapphire-colored hair. Thankfully, he spotted her on the edge of the cafeteria, sitting alone at the end of a table near the corner.

Tossing his plate down, Natsu greeted his sister with a huff, followed by a half-hearted "Hey."

"You sound like you've had a wonderful morning," Wendy commented through a mouthful of a chicken salad sandwich, especially prepared for her first day. It smelled delicious, and for a moment Natsu wished he had woken up earlier to make himself lunch instead of having to survive off of cafeteria food.

"Totally," Natsu rolled his eyes, a pointless action, considering Wendy couldn't see his annoyance, but the sarcasm dripping from his words made up for it. "I've been getting stared at all morning. It's like, the moment a new student shows up everyone looks at them like a wild animal in a zoo exhibit."

"I know what you mean," Wendy sighed. "I can feel everybody looking at me. They hush their voices, pretend like if they are quieter I don't know they're there. If only they realized their whispering is obnoxiously loud."

"It sucks," Natsu declared. "But somehow, we'll manage."

"Because we have each other," Wendy mocked their mother's caring words of advice from the night before.

"That's right."

The two moved into a comfortable silence after the conversation. Natsu crunched into his mozzarella sticks while Wendy took slow bites out of her chicken salad, a concentrated expression on her face. Natsu recognized the look immediately; she was listening around the room so she could get a sense of her surroundings.

When she was younger, Wendy would always complain about how much noise there was in the world. She'd lie in bed for hours, tossing and turning, covering her ears, screaming about the noise.

Without sight, she could only focus on the other four senses, using touch and hearing to her advantage. As the years passed, she developed a sixth sense that may not have been possible if she had sight. Touch and hearing worked together to create a new world for Wendy, one in which she could create a mental image of her environment because she could sense the things around her. When they were younger, they made it into a game, and now, whenever they didn't know what else to do, they'd slip back into it.

"About one hundred kids in here," Wendy began. "Mainly sitting on the left side. We're the only ones at this table, off in the corner." With a small sniff, she hesitated before continuing. "There are trash cans in the center aisle, and they have been filled up with previous kids' lunches."

Natsu hummed, agreeing with her when he smelled the putrid scent of the garbage. He always enjoyed when she made guesses like this. Somehow, she was almost always spot-on, and it was extraordinary. "What are they serving for lunch today?"

Wendy sniffed again. "Well, on your plate, you have an apple, something fried - chicken? - no, it's cheesy... Cheese sticks?"

"Mozzarella sticks," Natsu told her, eyes glancing down at his plate. "Anything else?"

"Milk carton," She wrinkled her nose. "The milk is expired. Don't drink that."

Natsu picked up the milk and examined the expiration date. It expired three days ago. Cringing, he set it back down on the tray, grabbed the apple, and pushed the rest away from him. "Yup, I'm officially packing my lunch from tomorrow on," He confirmed. "Okay, go on."

Snickering at my declaration, Wendy tapped her chin, in deep thought. "Everyone is quite nervous. I can hear their hearts beating rapidly, pulsing as one. They must be anxious about their first day. Trying to impress everyone else, make a good impression... they're all dressed in new clothes?"

Natsu looked around. Sure enough, the student body were decked out in purposely-torn jeans and skater skirts, bright sneakers and ballet flats, and graphic tees and name-brand blouses. "Correct," He grinned. "You're extraordinary, you know that?"

Wendy tossed her hair over one shoulder. "Thanks," Her usual sad look melted away for a moment, and the faintest of smiles played on her glossed lips. "It's just-" She paused mid-sentence, listening. "People are coming," She announced.

"What?"

"They're loud," Wendy continued. "Obnoxiously so."

After a moment, Wendy's prediction was proved true, because suddenly, a herd of cheerleaders ran into the cafeteria, doing front handsprings and cartwheels, shouting what sounded like a school anthem. Followed by the cheer squad was the drum circle and some guys in jerseys. At first, Natsu assumed them to be football players, considering the cliche, but with a second look he realized they weren't wearing shoulder pads or helmets or anything football related.

This school had a soccer team? He thought. I wonder if they're any good.

At Natsu's old school, he was on the soccer team for a couple years as the school's goalie until he got a severe injury to the head and had to quit. He finished off the rest of junior year focusing on his studies, learning how much more productive a student could be if they weren't at sports practice two hours a night.

"The ultra-famous Magnolia Moon Devils," A voice interrupted his train of thought. Natsu's head whirled in her direction, shocked she had appeared so suddenly Wendy, unfazed by the stranger sitting here, continued to bite into her sandwich, ignoring her completely.

He eyed the girl who had plopped down two seats from him. Her sunny blonde hair was shaved with geometric designs on one side, and the rest of her hair was curled and pushed to one side, tumbling down in waves her shoulder. She, too, was decked out in a black wardrobe, except for the dark red tank top under her leather jacket, which was really cool-looking.

"I like your style," They said at the same time, noticing each other's' similar tastes in fashion. They grinned simultaneously, immediately falling into a comfortable small-talk-esque conversation.

"You must be new here, right?" She looked him up and down. "I haven't seen you around, and I'm pretty sure I would remember someone with pink hair."

Natsu chuckled, running his hand through his hair nervously. "Yeah, my sister Wendy and I just moved here from Tokyo this summer," He explained. "I'm Natsu, by the way."

"Lucy," She stuck out her hand, and Natsu shook it. "And I'm assuming this is your sister?"

"Yeah," Natsu agreed. Wendy turned in her direction and nodded slightly, making a hum of acknowledgement. Lucy noticed the sunglasses and the retractable cane next to her, but chose to tear her eyes away, looking back at the cheerleaders, who were shaking their asses more than the forest green and white pom-poms in their hands. Natsu watched Lucy stare at them with a mixture of disgust and incredulous awe in her expression.

"This school is slightly different from typical schools," She explained. "Although several schools around Japan have been taking an interest in American football, our school district makes a huge deal out of soccer. You're looking at some of the best high school players in the country, in the very same cafeteria as you."

Natsu gulped, feeling extremely intimidated as he stared at the waving soccer players. There were only five representing the team, waving excitedly to the cheering crowd of students. Surely he couldn't compete with the best in the country; it made him wonder if his mom signed them up for this school for a specific reason. Perhaps it wouldn't be the best idea to try out.

Also, by the way she way she said it, Lucy didn't seem very excited or proud of the school's accomplishment, but slightly resentful. It made Natsu feel embarrassed, put down for his enjoyment.

Wendy, being the observant one she is, spoke up for the first time. "You don't seem to like them that much," She commented, setting down her sandwich and cupping her hands under her chin.

"I don't, kiddo," Lucy rolled her eyes. "Everyone makes such a big deal out of it, when in reality it's just a bunch of sweaty guys kicking around a ball into a net. There are just," She paused to sigh, "Much more important things you could be doing with your time than chasing a nearly impossible dream."

Natsu shied his eyes away, a weird feeling in his stomach. Wendy drummed her nails on the cafeteria table. "There's nothing wrong with trying," Wendy quipped. "Especially since high schoolers value belonging so much, they're desperate to cling on to the coolest cliques they can."

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, I guess," She rested her face in one cupped hand, staring at the cheerleaders. "But that aside, I still can't get over the cheerleaders. They talk so much about strict dress codes at this school and yet one high-kick with those short skirts on and nothing is left to the imagination." Lucy looked sick to her stomach at the sight of their short, tight outfits.

Eventually, she tore her eyes away from the head cheerleader, a girl with her blood orange hair in a long braid. "So," She clapped her hands together, shouting over the noise. "Show me your schedule; what classes do you have left?"

The drums pounded in sync with Natsu's heart, beating rhythmically in his ears and threatening to make his head spin. "Um," He had to fish out his schedule out of his backpack to check his afternoon classes. "Calculus, World History, and then band."

"History..." Lucy hummed, twirling a lock of her curly hair, "With Mr. Conbolt?" When Natsu nodded, one side of her lipstick-stained mouth twisted into a half-smile. "Cool. We have that together then. Also, you're in band?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Natsu felt defensive, the sarcastic emotion pooling over from her insults to soccer earlier.

"No," Lucy drew out the syllable. "It's just, well, not what I expected to be your thing." She admitted.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Natsu fired back snappily, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.

Lucy shrugged. "Fair enough," She mumbled. "What do you play?"

"Clarinet."

"Are you any good?"

"I was first chair at my old school," Natsu tried to sound nonchalant, not wanting to seem like he was big-headed for bragging. He wondered how excited the second-chair student was feeling at his old school right now. Pretty damn good, he assumed.

Lucy's eyebrows arched in surprise. "Then you'll have a lot of fun fighting over that spot with Gray Fullbuster this year," She told him.

Around them, the cheerleaders, drum line, and soccer players were marching around the cafeteria, shouting a synchronized cheer for the school. Everyone was watching them except the trio in the corner, either dazed and silent or cheering along excitedly, clapping along. Some of the cheerleaders had hopped on the tables and were dancing to the pop music playing through the boom box a soccer player had on his shoulder. As their line moved towards their corner, Natsu couldn't help but turn his head towards the commotion.

"Ah," Lucy muttered. "Speak of the devil." She nodded her head towards the first soccer player, dancing alongside one of the cheerleaders, a blue-haired girl who seemed to stare at him a little bit too much.

"And he shall appear," The soccer player grinned, overhearing Lucy. "Isn't it so cute how we finish each other's sentences, Heartfilia?"

"You wish, Fullbuster," Lucy turned her head away, staring off into space.

"Oh, who are your friends?" He nodded in Natsu and Wendy's direction, eyeing them up and down. "I haven't seen you guys around before."

"Natsu and Wendy," She said monotonously, still failing to look at him. "Now if you don't mind, we're not interested in the Girl Scout cookies you're selling, so if you would just kindly move along-"

"Good to know you're still as peppy and positive as ever, Heartfilia," The boy reached over and mussed up her hair. "So, Natsu and Wendy, my name is Gray Fullbuster, and I'm the captain of Magnolia High's soccer team, the Moon Devils!" He stretched his arms out wide for effect. "There are soccer tryouts happening tomorrow afternoon, if-," His eyes wandered down to Wendy's glasses and cane, faltering on his words. "If either of you are interested." He finished with a smile.

"They're not," Lucy hissed at him. "Now, we have lunch to finish, so you'll be on your way-" She tried to shoo him off, shoving him along.

"I'll be there," Natsu piped in immediately. Upon hearing him speak for the first time, Gray looked directly into his eyes. Natsu was shocked to see how blue Gray's eyes were. Like the finest piece of iridescent glass, they reflected off so many colors and made him feel like he could get lost forever in them. He was sure he was staring now.

Natsu, feeling embarrassed for looking longer than he should have, blinked and turned his gaze away. Gray looked strangely frazzled as well, clearing his throat. "That's great!" Leveling out his voice, he quickly reverted back to his high-spirited self, clapping his hands together. "I'll see you there then!" He turned to Wendy. "What about you?"

"No thanks," Wendy said quietly. "Sports aren't really my thing." Reflexively, she reached for her cane. Natsu knew that was a nervous habit, and sent Gray a small, apologetic smile.

Returning the gesture, Gray strode away, headed towards the crowd of cheerleaders and soccer players again. For a moment, Natsu only saw him amidst a sea of strangers. Then, he blended immediately into the crowd, and Natsu couldn't find him again.

"What was that?" Lucy asked once he was out of earshot.

Natsu played dumb. Surely she wasn't paying attention when that happened. For some reason, although Lucy seemed quick to be judgmental, Natsu didn't want to be on the receiving end of that. Gulping nervously, he stared down at his half-eaten apple.

"You like soccer?" Lucy seemed surprised, and just a bit guilty. "I'm sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have said those things-"

Natsu cut her off by holding up his hand. "Don't worry about it," He assured her. "I don't mind that you don't like something I'm interested in. You were just being honest anyways."

Lucy didn't seem so sure, and she stared at him to make sure he was telling the truth. When Natsu felt her gaze, they met eyes and Natsu smiled at her. "Seriously, don't worry about it."

The lunch bell rang, and Natsu immediately stood up, Wendy following closely behind. "See you later, Lucy!" Natsu waved before allowing Wendy to loop her arm around his.

"Wait, Natsu-" Lucy stopped him, unable to look away from him.

Natsu turned around, looking worried when he saw Lucy's awestruck expression. "Yeah?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Lucy stared at his eyes. She was almost positive they were grey when she first met him. Maybe I was just imagining things, she thought. Shaking her head, she looked away, deciding not to say anything.

"Nevermind."

A/N: mmmMMMM *screaming can be heard from the distance* I am so excited for this story, you have no idea. What did you guys think of this chapter? :)