Sweetheart

1

Aina nervously sat in the back of the class as she listened to her teacher speak. She picked at the ends of her notebook and tore the pages into little pieces. Why was she nervous? Well you see, she heard the words "group project" and her flight or fight response kicked in. She was originally looking at her friend and smiling, silently agreeing to work together, but her hopes were quickly crushed.

"Now I know by this time of the year you all have your...groups. So I've decided to decide the groups myself. You need to learn to work with new people."

Aina's eyes widened, and her friend noticed.

"Aina," Lucy whispered, "it's not gonna be that bad."

"Says you! You can get along with everyone. I'm just...me."

"Oh come on, you'll do fine. It's not like--"

"...Lucy and Elfman, Kinnana and Max, Laki and Evergreen, Aina and Natsu..."

She gasped and whipped her head to her friend and glared at her.

"Not gonna be that bad?" Aina hissed, echoing Lucy's words.

She just said one word in response, her eyes also wide, "Oof."

"That's all you have to say?! How the hell am I supposed to work with--"

"Aina and Lucy, so you have something to say to the class?"

Your friend came up with a quick answer, saying, "Actually, we were just talking about how Natsu is absent today. Do you think that Aina could join our group since her partner's not here?"

"Well I suppose that--"

Aina's eyes lit up and she gave a thankful grin to her friend. The classroom door opened and revealed a salmon haired student.

"Fuck," Aina groaned, "I'm dead."

"Natsu Dragneel, do you have a reason for coming in fifteen minutes before class ends?"

"Yeah, I didn't wanna come," Natsu snickered.

The teacher pinched his nose and sighed before pointing to the seat and telling him to sit down.

"Now I'm giving you all the last couple minutes to talk to your partners and come up with a plan and meeting schedule to work on it. Feel free to move the desks."

"Yo Mister Justine," Natsu called from his seat in the back of the class, "who had the honor of working with me?"

"You're paired with Aina."

"Who?"

Aina laid her head on her desk, Lucy looking at her in pity.

"I believe in you Aina," she encouraged. "It's only a term."

"A term?!"

Lucy sighed, "Were you not paying attention at all?"

"I kind of blocked out everything when I was paired with the worst partner in the school," Aina whipped back.

"So is no one gonna point me to my partner?"

"She's right here you dumbass."

"What did you just say to me, Fullbuster?"

He got no reply, as Gray turned back to his partner and started working on a schedule. Natsu followed his finger and his eyes landed on the brunette girl nervously picking at the metal spring holding her notebook together. He got up from his desk and sauntered over to hers, placing his hand on it and leaning against it.

"So your name's Aina? Never knew that."

"Yeah," Aina whispered, "I kinda figured."

"So why am I set up with you anyway?" Natsu drawled.