Cana and I grab our stuff and leave the dorms for Love and Lucky. A week has passed since I slept over at Natsu's, and I've finally gotten Cana and Mira to shut up about their 'nalu' conspiracies to me. Whatever 'nalu' is.

"Yeah I know but... You can't keep... I know you're trying. Baby, listen to me... No of course not!" Erza rushes out of the doors just as Cana and I enter, in a deep conversation. Cana and I share looks.

"Maybe she's stressed for the dance." Cana offers as we take seats.

"Dance? Another one?"

"Yeah, a costume party for halloween. It's still early in the year." Levy adds.

"I know, it just doesn't seem that short. It feels like it's been months." I reply.

"Well, the committee really loves throwing parties!" Levy smiles.

"So what are you going as?" I ask.

"Gajeel really wants to go as Iron Man, the Marvel superhero. He says I should be Pepper Pots, the bookworm." She smiles down at her drink. Levy and Gajeel have been official since the dance, and everyone supports it. They're so cute together!

"Why not? You could wear a wig..." I smile.

"Yeah I guess so." Levy begins to laugh.

"I'm going as a pirate!" Cana exclaims. We all laugh as she takes begins to mimic a pirate, hook, booze, and all.

"Mira, Laxus. What are you dressing up as?" I ask, nudging Laxus to my left. "Also, it's done, Laxus. You're set to go." He smiles, and lets Mira respond.

"We're going as Belle and the Beast."

"After he becomes human, of course," Laxus corrects.

"Of course," Mira agrees with one of her devilish smiles. The confusing one where you never know what she really means.

"What about you, Lu-chan?" Levy asks, looking up from her smoothie.

"I really don't know," I shrug. "What about you, Juvia?" Last week Cana drunkenly gave Juvia the great advice to stop chasing Gray as much. It took her some time to get used too, but now she's able to hang out with us more. And I can tell it's driving Gray crazy.

"Juvia is going as Cinderella. Juvia has always loved Cinderella since Juvia was a little girl. Always loved her story, the hard working, to grand ball, to perfect night at midnight." Juvia looks down with a dreamy sigh, and somehow manages to avoid looking at Gray.

"That sounds beautiful, Juvia." Mira smiles. "Gray?" She gives him a pointed look. Everyone, especially Mira, jumped on the Gray/Juvia (or as Mira and Cana call it: Gruvia) train last week. But from the sounds of it, Mira has been conspiring long before.

"I don't know," Gray shrugs, very indifferent. "I guess I'll figure it out before the dance though."

Juvia sighs, and I hear Cana mutter under her breath, "c'mon man, she gave you the perfect opening. Prince Charming, Gray! Baka..." I laugh internally.

"Hey, where has Lisanna been recently?" I lean over and ask Cana, whispering.

"I don't know. I saw her the other day with those girls who were mean to you before. Maybe she's spending more time with them?" Cana whispers back. Huh.

"What about you, Erza?" Mira smiles and asks the redhead walking back to the table.

"Huh?" She replies, distant.

"What are you going to be for halloween? The dance is in two weeks. Plus, I'm pretty sure you can bring Jellal to this one, since it's held in a public area this time."

"Uhh, yeah. Great. Can I get back to you on that?" Erza fumbles with her phone before looking up at us. Her face is slightly frozen, with the expression of a scared animal.

"O-ok." Mira says slowly. Erza gives us one last look, then runs back out again.

"What was that about?" Cana asks us, but blank faces are her only replies. Lunch goes pretty quickly after that.

__________________________________________________________

I walk up to Erza, who's sitting at the picnic bench outside the dorms. The sunlight streams through the trees, and one beam of light touches Erza's arm. It looks like she's looking at it.

"Hey Erza, are you ok?" I place a hand on her back. She looks up at me and moves her arm out of the light.

"Why do you ask that?" She sounds very tired.

"Well, because you seem very worried about something. Or is it someone?" One subtle movement of her eye shows me I'm right.

"It's alright Lucy, you don't have to worry about me."

"You're my friend, Erza. I want to help however I can."

"Ok." She takes a long breath. "Just, be careful at the dance."

"... What?"

"You be careful. I'll be careful too, but please. Take caution." Erza's eyes are pleading a little bit, and another beam of light reached out and lit her hair, making it look like fire.

"Uh, ok." I reply, giving her a hug and turning around. Just as I'm about to enter the dorms, I hear Erza's voice again. I turn around to reply to her, but her back is still to me. She's on the phone.

"You have to stop this. Jellal, you're scaring me. Listen to me-" I push open the door and rush inside. I feel bad enough eavesdropping as much as I did just there, I don't need to hear any more. But I've never heard of Erza being scared before... 

__________________________________________________________

Cana teeters on her ladder where she stands, leaning precariously to reach the other side of the hallway. A large banner decorated with some supplies I helped buy hangs limply from the side that's already attached.

"Don't fall!" I call up to her.

"Wow, great advice! That'll really help me when gravity attacks." Her sarcasm drips down and fills my ears.

"Love you too, Cana." I smile, handing her the tape so she can secure the banner. The door to the classroom behind me burst open.

"Don't fall, Cana," Natsu calls out behind me.

"Now where have I heard that before!?" She reaches over to tape the corner.

"Hey Luce." I take my eyes off of Cana for one second to acknowledge the boy next to me. For almost my whole first month, Natsu would ignore me around other people. Or if he did acknowledge me, it would be curt. But now he walks over to me, and helps me hold Cana's ladder.

"Hello Natsu." I whisper.

"So what are you going to be for halloween?" He asks me, very casually.

"I don't know yet."

"You should go as a princess." He replies.

"Ok... But which one?"

"Who cares? It's not like you'll be like other princesses. You're different." I look Natsu directly in the eyes as he says those words. "I-I mean, um..."

"Natsu...?" His face is blushing bright red. In this moment, Cana decides to reach over all the way to the other side of the banner, and begins to wobble the ladder. Natsu and I snap out of it, and help sturdy her together.

"Well, what are you going as?" I ask him.

"I'm going as a dragon. Wendy's idea." I blush a little, remembering my vivid dream from a while back at his house. We share a smile, as Cana descends the ladder.

"Thanks for the help, guys. Natsu," she nods her head to him. "Hime Neko-Lucy." I feel my face heat up. [T/N: Hime- Princess]

"Are we ever going to drop that?"

"No!" Cana smiles. "In fact, I think it's only going to get longer."

"Oh great," I laugh. Looking sideways, I catch Natsu silently laughing too.

"Hey, can the two of you help me? I've got to check on the homemade fireworks Master insisted on making for this occasion. We're supposed to test them tonight, but we should check them now." Cana looks from me to Natsu.

"Sure," we reply. Following her into the science lab, we spot Laki, Reedus, and Freed working on the fireworks together.

"I know master made some for us, but I'm sure I can make a better model if I just reverse engineer master's design..." Freed mutters under his breath.

"I'm here to help with the molds and creation!" Laki pipes up. [A/N: i don't know how to write things in her way of speaking]

"And I'm here to decorate them, and create the designs the fireworks will make once they explode! The sky is my canvas!" Reedus smiles.

On the large desk at the front of the room is a partly dismantled firework, and in the far corner are the rest.

"Freed, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Cana bursts.

"It's alright, Cana! I can put it back together. Once I make a few modifications..."

"Freed, YOU ARE GOING TO PUT THAT EXPLOSIVE BACK TOGETHER AT ONCE SO HELP ME-"

"Alright! Here, let me just..." He reaches across the desk to pick something up. Reaching over, he spills a small beaker of some liquid over the edge of is lab coat, and on top of the firework parts.

"What's this?" Laki picks up a lighter and sparks it a couple times.

Freed takes a breath, "Laki, stop doing that. As long as it doesn't catch on-"

"FIRE!" I turn around to see the pink-haired ladies man frozen with his hands clenched to his sides. His knuckles start to turn white, similar to how they were in the car against the steering wheel. Suddenly, a wave of heat and flash of bright light turn my eyes back to the mess on the table. The liquid caught on fire, and a column of fire reached the lights before coming back down. Colorful sparks from the fireworks jumped out in all directions.

"WHO PUTS A GLASS OF LIGHTER FLUID NEXT TO FIREWORKS???" Freed yells, taking off his lab coat and stomping it out. Laki stands there, trying to blow out the fire, while Reedus admires the colors.

"YOU IDIOTS, HELP PUT IT OUT!" Cana shouts. She runs to the back of the room and pulls out a fire extinguisher. "Somebody help me!"

I turn around to watch as Natsu's eyes widen. I remember what he said to me in the car, and I walk over to him.

"Natsu? Natsu, listen to me! Snap out of it. I'm here. You're ok, just don't look at it." I wrap Natsu in a big hug, and turn him away from the catastrophe. His arms automatically go up to wrap himself around me.

"F-f-fire. R-right there. F-fire behind me." He stammers. His voice sounds a little frantic.

"Natsu, it's alright. I'm here." From my position, I watch as Freed runs off to help Cana, then returns with the nozzle of the extinguisher.

"OK FREED, READY?" Cana yells behind him.

"N-no-"

"GO!" She pulls the handle on the thing, and white stuff sprays out of the nozzle. Caught by surprise, Freed accidentally covers all of us and half the room in the stuff before correcting his grip and aim. A couple of minutes later all the fire is put out, even the one on Freid's lab coat. Natsu is still in my arms, back completely covered in fire extinguisher goo, slightly shaking.

"Natsu, it's ok. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. It's gone." I whisper to him.

After a moment, he replies, "thank you, Lucy. I just... I don't like fire."

"I know, Natsu. I know. But I'm here. Your friends are here. We're here now. There's nothing to be afraid of." I stroke his head and try to soothe him. After a little, his heart beat goes down again.

"Thank you, Luce. Thank you so much for bringing me back." He gives me a look so intense and so serious, that I have to turn away with a blush creeping across my face.

"Of course, any time." I let him go, and he shuffles away, slowly regaining his composure along the way. I watch the back of his head.

"That was pretty amazing," Cana spooks me out of my thoughts.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, I knew Natsu didn't like fire, but I've never seen him like that. And in no way have I seen anyone bring him back to earth like that. That was something else." I feel my blush deepen. "You guys have a connection."

"I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"I stand by what I said. You and Natsu have a special connection. Don't miss your chance, Lucy."

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