One Of The Boys

Neighbors

Lucy had moved in next door when they were both five years old.

Natsu hadn't hesitated to stomp up the Heartfilia's porch steps, force his clammy hands into a little fist, and knock out a tune on their wooden doorway. Lucy's father had answered the door, his lips instantly twisting into a little grin when he saw the messy haired boy bravely staring up at him.

The boy stuck his sticky hand out. "I'm Natsu," He'd said, oddly charismatic for his age. "Nice to meet ya."

Jude had crouched down, amused by the youngster. He shook the boy's hand. "My name is Jude. How old are you, Natsu?"

The pink haired boy stuck his hand up, fingers spread wide. "Five and a half."

"Want to know a secret?"

"Yup."

Jude smiled at him. "I have a daughter, and she's the exact same age as you."

Natsu's eyebrows rose, and he stood on his tippy toes, trying to peek into the house behind the man. "Well, where is she?"

"She's a little shy," Jude explained, chuckling at the boy's excitement. "How about this: you go home and ask your parents to come over for dinner, and then you can meet Lucy."

Natsu had grinned up at the man. "Her name is Lucy?"

"It sure is."

The boy hopped off the porch, giving a wave of his hands as he rounded the sidewalk back to his own house. "I'll talk to my folks!"

He'd come back a while later, mother and father in tow. His father had brought a bottle of wine, and his mother held a homemade pie; Jude greeted them in the doorway. He'd invited them in, sat them down in the living room, made small talk.

Little Lucy, shy as ever, eventually came down from her room. She had her short blonde hair in pigtails, and she wore a lacy white dress.

Jude brought Natsu over, introduced the two children, and then returned to his seat to chat with the fellow adults, leaving the kids alone with one another.

"I'm Natsu," The pink haired boy had said loudly, not a hint of shyness in his tone.

The girl's cheeks had gone pink. She looked at her feet. "My name's Lucy."

"Well, aren't you gonna show me around?"

And so, she did. She showed him the entire house, taking him up to her room last. The entire room was covered in pink and purple flowers, with pretty princess dolls sitting daintily on the perfectly made up bed.

"No way!" Natsu cried, dashing to the window, resting his elbows on the sill. "That's my bedroom!"

Lucy stood beside him, their elbows touching. "It is?"

"Yeah," Natsu responded. The houses were close—living in the city gave you pretty small yard space; the houses were practically on top of one another—and the two childrens' bedrooms faced one another. Natsu figured that their rooms were so close, he could craft them a make-shift telephone out of two cans and a string. "Cool, huh?"

And so, they did just that. And by the time they'd made the telephone, it was time for Natsu to go home; as soon as he stepped foot in his own house, he raced up to his bedroom.

Lucy was sitting at her window sill, waiting for him; she waved, smiling. She opened up her window and tossed him a can, his side of the telephone. He caught it easily.

They talked all night on their little telephone. It didn't take them long to become best friends.

By the time they were six, they spent every minute possible with one another. The moment one of them woke up, they'd be shouting into their can telephone, telling the other to get up; they'd groggily chat until it was breakfast time. After breakfast, they'd meet up and walk to the bus stop together. They'd sit on the bus, chatting and joking the whole time. Neither of them were shy—not anymore. They got along too well to be shy with each other.