The Rise of The Flame

\\ FLIRTATION STATION //

"You've got to do some laundry, my man. It's starting to reek of stinky loser town in here," Gray, so very lovingly, told Natsu. The pink haired boy was too sucked into the violent video game on his handheld gaming console that he had no recollection of hearing Gray speak. Natsu thought the viscous games allowed for virtual practice and additional secretive training for when he did announce his alter ego to the public. Sighing, he tried once more.

"I heard that Lucy hates dirty boys."

"What?" Natsu asked, snapping his nasty, wax filled headphones out of his ears. Of course the mention of the cute little blonde snagged his whole attention span. At this fact, Gray smirked. "You heard me." Natsu blushed, crossing his arms and turning his head to the left. "That means she should like me, since I'm no dirty pervert." Gray's dark blue eyes bulged, not realizing his words had a dual meaning behind them. "No, no, no! I meant for you to wash your freaking repulsing clothes, not to not have sex with her! But if you do, be courteous and leave a necktie or a sock on the door knob so I don't interrupt anything saucy."

"Sex?! Who said anything about sex?!" Natsu was a red, ruddy mess while shouting in protest. The thought of such a seductive act with a shy Luce was enticing, yet nerve wracking and just plain wrong. "So you are a dirty pervert since you're the one who's brain went there. Nasty. I'll be sure to inform Lucy to be wary with the likes of you," Gray smugly snickered at the boy, shaking his head and feigning heavy disappointment toward Natsu.

"No! Anything but that!"

"I'll be certain to keep that in mind. Now, laundry room, washing machine, soiled underwear, detergent, go, bye."

Natsu glowered, annoyed with how his roommate had forced him into daunting and unwonted labor. Sure, he was steadily running out of outfit options, but who didn't want to wear green skinny jeans every once in a while? His back and neck shuddered at the thought. Maybe washing his clothes was a valid choice on his behalf.

"Stupid prick making me do things," he muttered under his breath when he entered the laundry room. His hamper was stuffed and bulging. The bad attitude Natsu housed had a stronger stench than his gross clothes. When he had chunked all of the rank articles into the washer and clumsily slung the cleaning liquid in, he slammed the top down with an intense fervor. The noise had resulted in a shrill squeak from something in the corner.

It was Lucy. In the flesh. Holy cow.

Natsu spun completely, making complete eye contact with her, stunned himself. "What the heck are you doing on the boys floor laundry room?" he questioned. She hid her cute nose behind the broken spine of the well used book she was trapped in. "U-Um this floor usually has machines available. The girls one is always in use. I live upstairs. Lucy fact number three is that I always wait on my laundry in the room, since I-I'm paranoid that someone will do something to my c-clothes," Lucy whispered, not meeting his accusatory glance. When she was done talking, she shoved her novel into her bag, zipping it up and taking off for the door, full fledgedly planning to exit.

Why did she always force him to chase after her? It was kind of getting old, really fast. "Luce!" he shouted, catching her just before she boarded the overly packed elevator. There, in front of a crowd, he grabbed her waist, drawing her body close to his, to the point of their noses brushing against the other's. Her brown eyes explained infinitely, surprised with skin screaming, crawling to push some distance between the two.

Natsu brought his lips to her ear. "Run away from me one more time. I dare you, Pixie." On a daring whim, he nibbled at her earlobe, carful around her earring that resided there. Natsu paused, relishing the moment into his memory. Once he backed up, he saw the fright etched onto her sweet face. He had been dumb overstepped a boundary again with a small audience in tow, too. Ding dong dang it.

Trying to redeem himself, Natsu shoved himself backward, retreating to his dorm room and not stopping until he profusely banged his head on the furthest wall a few decent times. Gray was amused at his behavior. "What happened to you?"

"Clothes. Washer. Lucy. Run. Flirt. Ear. Bite. Overstep. Stupid."

Gray cackled to the point of falling off his chair at his desk. Natsu wasn't understanding the enjoyment of his own pestering actions, but he was glad to entertain his otherwise gloomy friend. "Oh dang. I guess it's my fault. I shouldn't have sent you out into the world while thinking about shoving your virgin penis into Lucy's-"

"Shut up! I'm going out. Later."

His cheeks flushed heavily again, covering his ears to block the crude words. Natsu hastily packed his bag, beelining toward the library to hopefully get something accomplished. He had two exams on the horizon, and no drive to study for them. Once he had made his leisured way to the second floor, he yanked out a textbook and a secretly incognito bag of vanilla yogurt pretzels. The boy needed sustenance and there was no food tolerated. This forced the pink haired boy to get crafty. It would have been wise to select a softer, less crunchy snack, but Natsu was Nastu. Original.

A giggle emitted through the air, pulling his attention upward toward a girl a few tables away. She winked at him with fluttery lashes once she met his eyes. Uneasily, Natsu looked down at his book again, not wanting to see that flirty girl again. Eventually, the winking girl made her way to the seat next to him. She brushed her fingers over his face, tracing his cheekbones. "Excuse me, but can you keep your hands to yourself?!" Natsu scream-whispered.

"Whatever you say, Pretty Boy."

The girl relocated back to her original seat. Natsu was repulsed.

After reading another paragraph or two, a note landed gracefully on his tabletop. It was the color of soft pink, his curiosity peaked. Unfolding the message, it read, "How does it feel to have a taste of your own medicine? Sour or bitter?"

His onyx eyes perked up, glancing about the room in search of the sender. Halfway out the door of the nearby staircase stood an obviously pissed off Lucy. Her arms were crossed, glasses slipping down her nose and tensed shoulders to complete her look. Abruptly, Lucy pivoted, making her way out the exit. There was no sprinting after her this time around. At least not with detrimental repercussions.

His heart internally broke. The chances of securing her as a significant other were dashed and irrefutable. The slim opportunity dissipated. He couldn't focus on reading any longer, also pushing his snack away, not hungry.

The trees willowed under the harsh pressure of the grappling winds. Birds fleeted from the pre-storm weather, not wishing to receive wet feathers.

Natsu was pouting. His forehead hurried between his folded forearms of the table was was utilizing. He had yet to leave the library, probably getting stared at, but not even mustering enough to give a single flying flip. If he remembered correctly, he had never felt this wasted on a girl. She was easily his first, and she murdered his will.

Pitiful thoughts were rudely interrupted by a piercing screech. It alerted everyone on the same floor of the library, no one bothering to move. It was the bystander effect taking place before his very eyes. There were so many people around, someone else was bound to help. And that someone else had to be The Flame.

He also needed to put his clothes into the dryer, but that could wait until much, much later.

____________________
September 20, 2017 👕

Hey friends! Don't forget to leave a vote or comment with future predictions or if you want to have a conversation, I'm always down. Love y'all.

-Bubbles