The Princess of Fairy Tail High

I'm not cut out for this

Our fun at the boat show was put to an abrupt stop when the boat renter-man saw Cana accidentally flip her boat over. The four passengers were laughing it off and having a great time holding on to the boat and floating oars, but the boatman was having none of it. He shunned Cana, and like the awesome friends we are, we shunned the boatman in response, ignoring his tip jar and leaving his business.

Lucy was in no rush to go back to the hotel though, so we spent the remainder of the evening drying off at the beach on rented chairs. I lift my hand up to shade my eyes from the sun, when I feel a shadow step between the light and my face.

"Did the clouds come out?" I ask lazily, closing my eyes. I hear a giggle from above me, so I open my eyes in a squint. "Who are you?" I sit up suddenly. I was expecting maybe Lucy or one of my other friends, but the girl I see above me is not them.

"Hi Natsu, remember me?"

I scratch my head and blink my eyes so I can actually see something despite the sun being right behind her face. "Uh yeah. Ruby, right? I kinda recognized your voice."

Ruby smiles widely. "Great! Hey, I wanted to ask you a favor. I know we only just met, but you seem really nice and all. Can you help me carry this cooler over to where our chairs are set up? It's too heavy for me, and Blake and Jason are doing their own thing." She talks with her body, moving and pointing and swaying with her words. I find myself watching her perfectly manicured red nails. "Will you help me?"

I look over at my friends, or at least my friends that are still in their chairs. Lucy's in the chair next to me, sleeping with the umbrella protecting her from sun burn. Gajeel is also sleeping a few chairs over, and Levy is quietly reading a book. Looking down and at the water I see Gray and Juvia swimming while Mira, Laxus, and Cana are building a sandcastle.

"Sure," I say with a shrug. Ruby jumps in delight and pulls me up by the hand.

Walking away with Ruby I almost regret agreeing to help her. Sleeping in the sun next to Lucy sounds like the much better option now.

The cooler she mentioned is still in the trunk of a car, so I immediately question the character of Blake and Jason, who didn't even help their friend. I lift one end while Ruby gets the other, but I can tell I'm still holding the bulk of it. The sun still shines brightly in my eyes as I carry it over to three empty chairs. Lowering the cooler onto the sand, Ruby becomes distracted by something and drops her end.

"Ah shit," I gasp, feeling a muscle in my arm sprain a little. The box drops with a thud in the sand.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asks with genuine concern.

"I've been better," I say through clenched teeth. Ruby quickly walks around me and pats one of the beach chairs, motioning for me to sit. When I show reluctance, she moves in front of me and places her hands on my shoulders, forcing me back. "Woah, woah, what's up lady? I helped you with the cooler, can I go now?"

Ignoring my words, the girl sits next to me and runs her ruby nails down my arm. I struggle to not make a face when she touches the part of my muscle that I pulled.

"You hurt yourself. Maybe I can help," she murmurs. I don't want your help, I think angrily, but before I can say anything aloud, she wraps her hands around my arm.

Now, I've had girls latch on to my biceps like their lives depended on it- which they definitely did not. Girls have tried, and some succeeded, in seducing me. Girls have given me massages, pouty lips, and fluttering eyelashes. This was all a big part of who I was at school, yet these are all things I haven't even thought about in a long time. Well, except for Bianca, but that wasn't serious on my end.