#faiy tail fanfiction

[coleymari-blog]

Cyber Space is Always Sweeter : Chapter 7

Summary: Lucy is a down to Earth, studious, responsible runaway attending Magnolia College. Natsu is a rambunctious, intelligent, pyrophilic fraternity boy going to the same school.

They don’t exactly run in the same circles and they have one hell of a history. What happens when the names and facades disappear and all that’s left are words blinking on a screen? Modern day, College/Pen Pals AU. I’m sorry I suck at intros. Rated M for Language, Adult Situations, and future sexual situations. Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Nothing better than an empty Science Lab.

At least that's how Natsu felt. When he was alone in the lab, he felt relaxed, calm, in his element so to speak. Being a Teacher's Assistant and a Grad Student with a thesis awarded a few perks that he thoroughly enjoyed. Two of which were the unobstructed time in the lab and use of the materials (as long as he didn't cause any major explosions). Sometimes Makarov found him in there tinkering and would join him in a 'purely Mentor/Mentee' fashion. Honestly, the pinket believed it was because the old man secretly loved setting things on fire as much as he did.

Unfortunately, his late night encounter got him off to a late start, so that meant pretty much no downtime. Looking up at the standard issue schoolhouse clock on the wall, Natsu realized he only had about fifteen minutes to set up the lab. He hurriedly set his bag down on top of his desk at the front of the room and rushed to the cabinets in order to pull out all the safety gear. Luckily the first lab was always about Lab Safety, which meant very little setup. He'd done that lab a million times, hell, he could probably set everything up with his eyes shut. He ran through the motions smoothly, the sounds of the ticking clock and his humming keeping him company.

Once the stations were set, Natsu surveyed the room once more to double check his work as always. Seeing no notable mistakes, he excused himself from the room to walk down the hall to the vending machine. He usually had to talk a lot in Lab and his throat got scratchy if he didn't bring water. Sliding his card in, he peeked out of the corner of his eye, spotting Lisanna sitting on a wooden bench with that witch, Minerva. It tore him apart that someone so wonderful could choose to affiliate themselves with someone like her. Lying to poor Lucy like that? Playing her for some fool? Granted, he'd, unfortunately, played a part in that too albeit unwillingly. All he'd wanted was to get back with Lisanna after he realized his mistake. It was only after everything that happened that he figured out the biggest mistake of all was trusting Minerva in the first place.

The sound of the water bottle falling into the catch shook Natsu from his memories, and seeing Lisanna look up and dead at him forced him back into his comfort zone, the lab. A few students had trickled in already, most of them taking seats at the stations near the back of the room. He understood them, he was them a few years back. The others had mostly settled somewhere near the middle with one firmly planted up front, notebook open and at the ready with a little more than five minutes to spare. Then she walked in.

Lucy opened the door to the lab and casually made her way to one of the last empty stations in the middle. Her deep brown eyes locked on Natsu's emerald ones before she quickly looked away, her cheeks blushing almost immediately. He couldn't help but think about how cute she looked when she was embarrassed. What piqued his curiosity was the fact that she suddenly pulled out her phone and furiously typed a few messages into it before shoving it back into her bag. Natsu sighed as he forced himself to walk past her, promising himself to make this semester as easy and comfortable for the freshman girl as he possibly could. As he walked by her, he couldn't help but breathe in the air around her. The warming scent of vanilla and something else (lavender maybe?) slowly enveloped him as he made his way to his desk.

Shaking his head, he pulled out his laptop and opened up the school's online portal. Natsu logged in and clicked on his Roll Sheet, prompting the computer to display the list of his students. Before starting the lab, he read it over silently, his eyes settling over one name; Lucy Heartfilia. It was like bells going off in his head. She was in his lecture too! Maybe he could use this semester as his way to pay her back for what had happened. She'd never even know that he was helping. All he'd have to do was pay attention, which shouldn't be too hard. Looking back at Lucy, he caught her staring at him, causing her to break their gaze again. She looked angry, but not.

Since he obviously couldn't take the time to figure out why Natsu decided to start the lab and read off the first name. "CANA ALBERONA?!"

Talk about turning heads.

After about thirty minutes of primping, Lucy finally felt ready to tackle the day. It had only taken trying on about four different outfits before she finally settled on a classic look of hers that never failed her. The white sleeveless top with cerulean trim always made her feel confident, and paired with the matching blue skirt and her brown leather boots? The freshman felt unstoppable as she strolled into the science building. She couldn't help but feel empowered when she noticed all the guys turning to watch her as she walked past them. It was as if she could almost hear the snapping of various necks as she rounded the corner. Looking at her phone, she saw she only had five minutes until lab began. "Better get this over with…" she murmured quietly to herself under her breath.

Lucy watched yet again as a pink blur rushed by a few feet in front of her, coming from the adjoining hallway and beating her to the lab door. Her stomach churned but she marched on, determined as ever to overcome the building anxiety. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, the freshman walked into the lab and immediately picked the last empty station. With such a small amount of time left before the beginning of the period, the odds of more people joining her were slim to none. The blonde felt eyes on her and followed the stare back to Natsu, causing her to blush profusely.

Something about his glances made Lucy feel warm and exposed which made her feel panicked. Her first reaction was to text Levy, hoping her best friend could calm her down.

Txt [Lev]: OMG. I need out of here. ASAP. Natsu won't stop staring at me. Txt [Lu]: Girl, get a hold of yourself. It's probably because you look beyond gorgeous, as always! Txt [Lev]: He's probably remembering what an idiot I am. Txt [Lu]: You were lied to. Everyone knows it. He probably feels bad if anything. Txt [Lu]: Sorry Lu, class is starting. Good luck!

Lucy chucked her phone in her bag and huffed to herself. Leave it to Levy to actually make some semblance of sense. She was losing herself in her cloudy mind when he walked by her, drawing her out of her self-induced haze. The blonde was greeted by the smell of what reminded her of a campfire smoldering. It was warm and inviting, and Lucy could feel the blush crawling up her shoulders and neck to cover her face.

What was she doing? Hadn't she been down this road before? Ever since she laid eyes on him at the beginning of Summer Rush, Lucy had been attracted to him. She'd been stupid enough to believe Minerva and where had that gotten her? All she could do was feel angry with herself for being so naive.

Natsu's booming voice calling Roll was enough to bring her back to Earth. She recognized the first name as being one of Levy's sisters from Cait Shelter. That put Lucy a little more at ease, her racing heart slowing microscopically as she tried to regain composure. The rose-haired TA made his way through the list quickly and moved onto the actual lesson quite smoothly, like a practiced professional. Lucy couldn't help but watch as he made his way to each station, checking to make sure each group was following his instructions to the T. He wandered from group to group, eventually finding himself at Lucy's table and inviting himself to sit beside her on the other stool.

"Everything going alright over here?" Natsu asked, his voice soft and warm. It reminded Lucy of the tone of voice one would use to talk to a scared animal or child.

Looking up to meet his emerald gaze, Lucy cleared her throat politely. "Mhm, everything's great," the freshman replied quickly, setting down the Chemical Burn Info card that was in her hands. "Can't get much wrong the first day right?"

She was surprised when Natsu laughed in response. "You'd be surprised," he chided playfully, standing up to leave again. Before he did, the TA reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his worn leather wallet and grabbed a business card from its billfold. "Listen, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. I do tutoring too and I don't mind helping you out, okay?" He grinned widely before taking off to the front of the room again, moving on with the lesson at hand.

Looking down at the card, Lucy read it over, noting the professionalism of it all. On a plain ivory cardstock with a red stripe down the left side, it listed his name, school-issued e-mail address, and his student office number. Thinking it over, she'd never really been good at Math or Science. Maybe the extra help wouldn't be so bad…

It wasn't much longer until the lab session was over, the room clearing out faster than she imagined it would. Lucy realized she was the only one left in the room apart from the TA who was grumpily cleaning up after the students who had left it all behind, muttering to himself about how he didn't get paid enough to babysit freshman. It almost made Lucy feel bad, and she double checked her own space to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. She gathered her things and slung her bag over her shoulder, making her way to the door when something told her to look back.

As she crossed the threshold into the university's hallway, she locked eyes with Natsu once more from across the lab. The air felt like it was electrified and it made Lucy blush once more before turning her attention back to the walkway in front of her and taking off for her next class.