Dragon Mate

Chapter One

POV: Lucy

 I wake up to birds chirping through my window. I open my eyes to the bright sunlight drifting through my curtains. "Mm, so bright," I mutter as I sit up to stretch. I looked over to see a pink-haired boy looking up at me. My hand goes right to my heart in a panic. "Natsu! You startled me. What are you staring at?" Natsu plasters his signature grin on his face. "My Lucy!" I feel my face go bright red. "Natsu! You can't just say stuff like that!" I yell as I curl back under my covers. I hear Natsu laugh. "I'm sorry, Luce, I just can't help but tease you," he says as he lifts my blanket. I look up to see him staring at me with a soft smile. "You better get ready, or we're going to be late for class," he tells me.

Natsu and I have been friends since we were little. As a child I wasn't really that good with my magic, but Natsu was always there by my side and protected me from all the bullies. I appreciate him so much for it. for sticking by my side all these years. Natsu has also helped me get stronger. He has been helping me with my hand-to-hand combat training since we were fifteen. With his help I've become one of the strongest females in our guild alongside with Erza and Mira.

I hear a soft knock at my door as I get out of bed to prepare for school. I open my front door to see my best friend and guildmate Levy. "Good morning, Lu-chan." Levy greets me cheerfully. "Good morning, Levy-chan. What brings you by so early?" I ask. We usually meet up at the guild before school. So, it's odd that she came to my apartment. "You remember last week we went to the library, and I found that book about dragons? I finished it last night, so I thought I'd bring it to you so you could read it." Levy said as she handed me the book. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot. Thanks, Levy-chan." I tell her as I take the book from her. "Not a problem. I'll see you at the guild!" she says as she takes off. I looked down the hall to watch her leave and saw her walking to Gajeel. I smiled, thinking how cute they were together, and then walked back into my apartment. I walked into my room, and Natsu was gone. 'He must have left when he heard Levy.' I thought to myself as I started to get ready for school.

As I walk out my front door, I remind myself to lock it so I don't have any unexpected visitors. I turn around and see Natsu waiting there for me. "Took you long enough, Luce," he says with a big grin. "I'm sorry. I thought you had already left for the guild, so I took my time." I tell him as I make sure my door is locked. "No, I heard levy, so I jumped out the window... sorry." He tells me. I giggle to myself. "You know you could have just gone to the guild, and I would have met up with you," I told him. Natsu let a growl pass through his teeth and scrunched his face. After he realized what he had done, he got an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, Luce. If I didn't wait, no one would have been here to walk you, so you were safe." My heart skipped a beat just at the thought of his concern for my safety. He's so cute. 'Wait, did I just think Natsu is cute?' I think to myself for returning my attention to Natsu. "Okay, Natsu, let's get going, or we'll be late getting to school," I tell him as I walk toward the guild. I got a little ahead of Natsu before he realized he had to jog to catch up. Natsu stuck close to me as if something were going to happen to me. He would let out a deep, loud growl whenever someone got too close. No one dared to come near us. We get almost halfway there when I feel Natsu pick me up, and he starts running the rest of the way. *Screams* "NATSU WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" I yelled as we were coming close to the guild hall. When we got to the front door, he finally put me down. "LUCY KICK!" Natsu went flying down the steps right past Erza. "Jeez, Lucy, what did he do now?" Erza asked me as she got closer. "He randomly picked me up and started running," I tell her as she stops before me. "I'm sorry, Luce..." Natsu says as he cautiously comes near me. "What is up with you today? First, you growl at everyone to come near us, and now you're running away with me?" I ask. I'm starting to get concerned with how he's acting today. "The area didn't feel safe; all I know is that I want to ensure you're safe. You are important to me, Luce." Natsu sadly did not like the fact that I was mad. Erza looks back and forth between us. "I'll see you guys in class," she said as she dismissed herself to the school. *sigh* "Let's get a job after class. So, I can pay my rent and buy food for dinner." I say as I turn to the door. A big grin appeared on Natsu's face as he jumped ahead of me and kicked the door open as always. "We're home!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Natsu! Lucy!" I hear the voice of Natsu's companion, Happy. I look over to see him flying at us. "Help, she's going to kill me!" Happy yells, and he flies behind Natsu. "What did you do now ca-" I'm interrupted by a white blur flying right past my face and behind Natsu. 'Oh no. What did that cat do to Carla?' As I think this, I see Carla dragging Happy out from behind Natsu. Carla started yelling at Happy about the prank he had played on her. I decided to walk to the job board to find one to do after school to earn money. I found an easy job close by that paid enough money to pay my rent for three months if things went right and Natsu didn't blow everything up. I grabbed the job and took it over to Mira for approval. As I was waiting for Mira, Gray walked up to me. "Hey, Lucy." As I'm about to greet him, I hear Natsu's growl from across the room. Gray turned his attention to Natsu. "What's your problem, Flame brain." Grey started to stomp towards Natsu, looking for a fight.

Ultimately, I had to drag Natsu out the door so we wouldn't be late for school. "You need to stop fighting with Gray." I scolded him as we walked through the front gates of our high school. We ended up catching up with the rest of our group. I looked around at our friends and noticed something odd. Our Slayers are acting weird. As I'm deep in thought, I feel Natsu's arm wrap around my shoulders, so I wrap my arm around his waist. This wasn't the first time we've done this at school. It was how our friendship was. Most of our school thinks we are a couple. It probably doesn't help that we don't correct them. I feel Natsu quickening our pace, so I look up at him. He smiles down at me. "We need to hurry, or we will be late to homeroom." we walk like this to class, and then Natsu opens the door for me.