Promise Me Please

New girl

*8 years later, Natsu is 18*
{NATSU'S POV}
Promise me, huh. I stare at my pinky finger and sigh. Why can I never remember her name? To my right at the lunch table, Lisanna laughs and talks away. Occasionally, she grabs my arm or tries to hold my hand, but I ignore her advances.

To my left, Gray and Gajeel are getting into an argument about who did better during last night's game. Gray throws a punch at Gajeel, who dodges easily, and he hits me instead.

"What was that for, Snow Cone?" I growl, standing.

"It's your fault for being in the way, Ash For Brains!" He yells back.

We start arguing, until we feel an angry presence behind us. The student body president, Erza, stands there with a dark aura surrounding her. Her arms are crossed, and the vice president, Jellal, is behind her. He makes no moves to placate her, and Jellal is the only one who can.

Further back still, with the girl Gajeel's been checking out lately, Levy I think, is another girl. Her blonde hair is in a messy high ponytail, and she wears nerdy glasses that hide her eyes. All the textbooks for her classes are in her arms, clutched against her chest.

"Natsu, Gray. You're setting a bad example for our new student. Lucy, this is Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster." Erza introduces us.

"Hi." She nods timidly... to Gray. The new girl, Lucy, completely ignores me.

"Oi! You're being rude, don't ya think?" I grab Lucy's arm and force her to face me.

Her eyes flash fire as she turns. "You promised!"

"What?! What does that even mean?" I snap. This new girl is so confusing!

Instead of responding, Lucy pulls free from my grasp and storms off. I stare after her, mouth agape. Levy smiles apologetically at me, waves at Gajeel, and races after her calling, "Lu-chan!"

"Way to go, Fire Freak. You made her mad." Gray says. I glare at him.

"What'd you say, Ice Princess? You wanna go?" I challenge. We get up in each other's faces, only to be bonked on the head by Erza.

"Stop fighting!" She yells. "Natsu, I don't know what you did, but you will apologize to Lucy next time you see her. Everyone should feel welcome here at Fairy Tail High."

"I didn't do anything!" I protest.

Erza's eyes get an evil gleam. "Are you disobeying a direct order?"

"No ma'am!" I yelp. Then the bell rings, signifying the end of lunch period.

Lisanna and I go to science class, which is right after lunch for us. I sit in the very back. Lisanna perches herself territorially on the edge of my desk, and tries flirting with me more. The bells rings again and she has to go to her seat at the front of the room. I stifle my sigh of relief.

"Class, we have a new student today." Mrs. Fiziks announces. She gestures to the door, and no one else but the new girl, Lucy, walks in. Everyone starts chattering excitedly.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Mrs. Fiziks smiles kindly at Lucy.

"Okay. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I look forward to spending the rest of the school year with all of you." Lucy waves to the class.

"Are there any available seats for Lucy to sit?" Mrs. Fiziks asks. I look around. Every seat is full, except for one. My heart sinks.

"Ah, excellent. Lucy, you can sit by Natsu, there in the back row."

"Hold up, Mrs. Fiziks!" Lisanna stands. "I'd be more than happy to give Lucy my seat. After all, she may need it to see the board." She points to her face and makes a motion like she's pushing up glasses. She makes a snorting sound, and the other girls snicker. I groan in disgust. I hate bullies.

"Thank you for offering, Miss Strauss, but that is quite alright." Mrs. Fiziks glares at her. Lisanna shrinks back into her seat and settles for sneering at Lucy as she walks down the aisle.

Lucy settles into the seat beside me. I remember what Erza said. Now's as good a time as any.

"Psst." I hiss. Lucy's eyes don't stray from the teacher. I notice for the first time that they're brown, like chocolate.

"Pssssst." I say a little louder, and lean closer.

"What?" She finally snaps. I'm taken aback. Girls don't usually give me the cold shoulder like this.

"I don't know what I did at lunch, but I'm sorry. Peace?" I offer her my hand.

"Whatever." Lucy sighs and we shake. Now that I'm in better spirits, I can focus on the lesson. Throughout the period, though, my attention is drawn to Lucy over and over again.

Every time the teacher calls on her, she answers smoothly with the correct answer. A piece of hair falls in her face and she tucks it behind her ear. I find myself disappointed when class ends.

"Hey!" I run to catch up to Lucy after class. Damn, she moves fast!

"What?" She turns to face me.

"Um, well, I was wondering, because you're new, if you'd heard about Mira's party this weekend."

"I heard." Lucy says brusquely.

"So... are you going?"

Lucy arches a brow. "As a matter o' fact, I am going, with Levy-chan, Erza, and a few other girls. Why?"

"Oh." So she is going. I'm kinda disappointed that she already has a group. Somehow, Lucy Heartfilia seems like she's someone important to me.

"Is that disappointment I see?" Lucy jokes.

"What? No way!" I turn and speed walk in the opposite direction.

"Natsu?" Lucy calls out behind me.

I look over my shoulder at her. "Hmm?"

"Are... are you going to Mira's party?" She fidgets nervously. I grin.

"Of course!"

"I was hoping you would be." Then Lucy smiles fully, and it's quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I turn away so she doesn't see me blush. My heart is racing.

The girl's face from my memory pops up. She had a smile like that. Suddenly, I gasp. What had Lucy said when we first saw each other? You promised.

I spin back around, about to call out again, but Lucy is already gone. No way. Could Lucy really be the girl I made the promise with? Could she be the one I swore to love forever?