One Of The Boys

Homer

"Luce. Luce, wake up."

Lucy flinched away from the sounds, curling up tighter into her blankets. She was uncomfortable and her bed was really fucking hard and she was freezing cold, but she was way too tired to get up. She wouldn't be able to function at school with such a low level of energy; she'd have to skip it today.

Something nudged her. "Holy fuck—Luce! Wake up!" The voice was impatient, now.

"Shaddup," She murmured back, not opening her eyes.

She could hear stifled laughter. "Lucy, I'm serious. You really need to wake up."

Lucy frowned. "I'm tired, Natsu."

"I know you're tired. But have you forgotten where we are?"

She pondered his sentence for a couple long moments, thinking about it. What was that supposed to mean? Oh—right. She'd hung out with him last night, when she couldn't sleep. They'd gone for a walk, and laid down in the middle of the old baseball diamond and watched the stars, just like they used to when they were kids.

Her brown eyes snapped open when the realization hit her.

They hadn't left. They'd fallen asleep in the grass, on the field. They were still there.

A pink haired boy was standing over her, leaning over so that his face was close to her own; his lips were twisted up into a sly smirk, and he watched her with amusement. "Morning, sunshine."

Lucy pushed herself forward, and Natsu stepped back, still grinning down at her. "Jesus!" She hissed, glancing around. Cars drove by on the nearby street; kids were on the sidewalk pointing at them. "What time is it?"

He shrugged. "I dunno—there's school busses goin' around, so I figure it's just about time for school."

"Oh." Lucy nodded for a moment, and then another realization hit her. "Oh my god—I have to get home before school!"

Natsu made a face. "I don't think we have time to go back."

Lucy glared at the ground, appalled that she'd let this happen. "I have to get ready! I have to shower, and do my hair, and do my makeup, and pick out an outfit..."

"Luce—we have like five minutes. It's an eight minute walk. You'll never make it in time."

She looked up at Natsu, and he blinked down at her. Then, she realized that he was staring right at her—before she was all beautified. Her hands flew up to her face, covering herself. "Gah—don't look at me."

He gazed at her, head cocking to the side in confusion. "Why not?"

Lucy peeked through her fingers, cringing when she noticed him still watching. "Look away!"

Natsu obeyed her, eyes turning up to the clouds. He was still confused. "I don't get it."

Once she was satisfied he wasn't looking at her, she dropped her hands. "My hair's probably a mess, and—oh, god, I'm not wearing makeup. No one deserves to see that."

Natsu's eyebrows tugged down, annoyed. "I've seen you without makeup since you were five years old."

Lucy hauled herself up to a standing position. "Yeah, well, not anymore."

That bothered him. "Why do you have to wear makeup?"

She sighed, grabbing his wrist and tugging him along. She fully intended to get cleaned up before entering the school—there was no way she was walking in all greasy, stinky and wearing her pyjamas. "So I look pretty."