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After washing himself up after the SeeD exam and hearing the news of his unexpected success at the exam, Natsu Dragneel dressed up in his SeeD uniform. It was time to celebrate this by participating in a graduation ball that was held in Balamb Garden’s ballroom that evening. He had never been in the ballroom as it was an exclusive location only for SeeD related celebrations. After being in this school for seven years he would finally visit it for the first time ever and only for one night. After this, he would be travelling around the world doing all kinds of jobs for people who were willing to pay for the special forces’ services.
The ballroom was a dome shaped room that was located in the first floor of Balamb Garden. It was a big room where the floor was made of marble. The roof was made of glass and Natsu liked that the sky outside was clear. The moon and the stars were twinkling as if they were celebrating as well. There was also wall cloths hanging on the walls and lots of all kinds of green plants in nice looking, big vases on the sides of the room.
Natsu chuckled when he remembered how his rival Sting Eucliffe had snuck into the last year’s SeeD party that had been in this room. He had tried to pass the exam for the fourth time and had failed – probably due to his poor co-operation skills and such which had been the cause of his failure this year as well – and he had decided to sneak in anyways. Instructors had caught him and had kicked him out of the room. Natsu was sure he had done it again because it had been his last chance to make it and now he wouldn’t be able to do it again.
I’m gonna make sure I’ll be there to see him get kicked out of here again, Natsu thought as he stopped by the food buffet table that stood on the side of the room. Behind the buffet table there were small round shaped dinner tables and chairs around them. Natsu spotted his friend Gray was sitting there, trying to eat every single snack off the table as fast as he could like as if he was participating in an eating contest.
”Be careful so you won't suffocate yourself with all that food, buddy”, Natsu greeted him.
”They should've picked better stuff for the snack table. These won't keep my hunger away”, Gray sighed. ”I'm gonna eat some more...” he added and then wandered away in an obvious attempt at finding something else to eat.
Natsu shook his head at his friend's antics and then turned his attention on his surroundings again. He noticed a group of young girls who were trying to look like they belonged into the party by wearing expensive looking clothes but judging by their body language Natsu could easily tell that they were party crashers. He raised his eyebrows at them when they noticed him and then they paled and ran away as if they were scared that Natsu might go nab on them to one of the teachers present at the ballroom. He watched them go and felt amused by that behavior. Every time there was something to celebrate, someone always wanted to sneak into these events. Especially if they were as exclusive as the SeeD Ball was.
Natsu kept walking around the room and thanking everyone for their congratulations on his success at the exam and he always smiled and pretended he knew all these people even though he didn't. Eventually he began to feel a little bit overwhelmed by the attention and decided to find himself a nice corner to chill at for a little moment before socializing more. The corner he stepped into was pretty far away from all the party goers and that made him really, really happy. It wasn't like he didn't like socializing – sometimes he just really needed a place for himself. Natsu sighed and pressed his body against the wall, closing his eyes.
”Finally a little bit of peace...” he mumbled. Not even the annoying waltz music that was echoing through the ballroom made him feel any less relaxed. He just didn't care enough. All he wanted was a moment of peace.
His thoughts were interrupted by sounds of footsteps on the marble floor. He immediately straightened himself up so he wouldn't look like a fool in guests' eyes but ended up feeling relieved when the person walking towards him was a waitress carrying a black tray that had wine glasses on it. She offered Natsu one with a small, flirtatious smile on her lips. Natsu had to admit that she wasn't bad looking at all – she had short dark hair and brown eyes, and very cute roundish shaped face. He flashed his most charming smile to her at once while taking the glass from her.
”Natsu!” Levy's voice rang from a little further away from them, interrupting their little moment together. Blue haired girl had also passed the exam and was wearing her SeeD uniform. She walked over to them and then looked at the waitress and Natsu's pathetic attempts at hiding their disappointments. Levy seemed to realize she had interrupted something and looked at them two apologetically which only made the waitress huff and leave. Natsu sighed. He had wanted to talk to her a little bit longer!
”I just wanted to congratulate you, Natsu”, Levy said. ”SeeD is a big deal, isn't it?”
”Yes, it is”, Natsu agreed.
”It seems that you were busy with your waitress though”, she teased him.
”Certainly”, Natsu agreed again and grinned.
”I'll let you go after her then”, Levy said. ”I'll go save Gray from choking himself with all these fancy snacks”, she added and left him to go hastily towards the snack table where Gray had just returned and kept stuffing his face with food.
Natsu was left alone once again. He leaned into the marble wall and smiled while he tried to relocate the waitress girl from earlier but she was nowhere to be seen. It meant he had lost his chance with her. He didn't let it ruin his mood though. Maybe it wasn't just meant to be and Levy's interruption came at the right moment to stop him from making a mistake.
Natsu sighed. To him everything felt so unreal. He had passed the exam despite the fact that his team had gone off trail during it in Dollet. Sting Eucliffe, who had been their team leader, had decided to go astray and disobey the given orders by their instructors. They had followed a bunch of Galbadian Soldiers into the northern woods and from there they had found a radio tower where they also went in. At this moment Levy, who had been a messenger from another team, had joined them to bring Sting a message from the instructors. She had been furious because Natsu's team had abandoned their post. Then they entered the radio tower together, fought the Galbadians there and left in a hurry because the SeeD teams were leaving the town. On their way back, Galbadians massive spider robot after them which was eventually destroyed on the beach by their instructor Erza Scarlet who had seen the monstrosity coming after them. She had immediately used a machine gun on their ship to destroy it so Natsu could run into the ship. Once they were all in and the robot had been destroyed, the group left Dollet as the last team. Natsu had been worried that what they did would cost their SeeD membership but Natsu's own leadership skills had saved him, Gray and Levy from failing the exam. Sting, who had left his team for the wolves to save his own skin – which had led Natsu to take over the leadership in Team B – had been declined the membership once again. Natsu had been surprised to know that instructors had taken his actions to count and decided his grade based on that. He was, of course, very grateful for it as well since he had worked so hard for it.
Natsu sighed and opened his eyes again to look at the moon and the clear starry sky outside. He was pretty sure it was already closer to midnight because the night sky looked so bright. It had been the sunset when he had finally been able to return to the school by his own means as Sting had taken the last car to the school just when Natsu's ship had returned to the Balamb docks. It had been another infuriating adventure but luckily some local girls promised to help them and they were able to get to the school before it had been too late.
Natsu saw a shooting star flash through the sky outside while he had been thinking and immediately thought how much he wished to be successful as a SeeD. He also hoped, deep down, that one day he would also find a woman who would sweep him off his feet because he was pretty sick of being alone all the time. Now that he was a SeeD, he'd have time to date as well, right? Yes, he was sure of it.
And then, when he looked around the room, he noticed her. A lonely looking girl, who was wearing a red dress few meters away from him, was also looking at the shooting star through the glass ceiling. The expression on her face was hopeful. Her eyes were brown like chocolate and a faint smile was dancing on her lips. Natsu thought he had never anyone as beautiful as she was when she noticed he was looking at her. She looked at him curiously and then smiled playfully as she turned around and began walking towards him. Natsu flashed his charming smile at her as she approached.
”Well, well, well”, girl said. ”You have to be the most handsome guy in this room. Where have you been hiding from me?”
”Maybe I was waiting for you here”, Natsu suggested.
”Oh, smooth”, blonde girl said and smiled. ”Would you like to dance with me? I'm so bored. I was trying to find someone but haven't had any luck yet. Then I saw you looking at me and thought you probably won't object spending time with me.”
”I don't know”, Natsu said. ”I haven't danced in a while.”
”Excuses, excuses”, blonde said and rolled her gorgeous eyes. ”Oh, of course. You only dance with someone you like, am I right?”
”Looks like you caught me”, Natsu said and pretended to be shocked because her assumption wasn't true at all. He genuinely hadn't danced waltz for a very long time and wasn't sure if he'd been good at it.
Also, now that I think about it, this girl looks familiar, Natsu thought as she looked at the mysterious blonde. Where had he seen her before? He couldn't remember no matter how hard he tried. It had been a long, eventful day so it was obvious that he wouldn't remember even though not remembering seeing a beautiful girl like this blonde was an absolute travesty! Natsu took a sip of his wine glass while the girl looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. Then, all of a sudden she began smiling the most charming smile Natsu had ever seen and he literally felt a jolt in his stomach.
”You're going to like me, you're going to like me, you're going to like me”, blonde said quietly as she took a step closer to him. She looked deep into Natsu's eyes and then her face turned victorious. Natsu felt powerless in front of her charm.
”Now you like me so we can dance together”, blonde told him and grabbed his wine glass from his hand and put it on the tray that a passing waiter was carrying. Then she smiled to Natsu and took his hand. She began to drag her to the dance floor.
*
”Aren't those boots a little bit uncomfortable, Mr. Boots?” she asked him when they were dancing few moments later. ”They make your feet look enormous.”
”Aren't you bothered by the looks you get from everyone, Red Fairy?” Natsu shot back. ”Also, my boots are very warm and cozy, thank you very much.”
Blonde giggled at his words which sounded adorable in Natsu's ears. He literally stumbled a little bit and accidentally stepped on Red Fairy's toes. She cursed him and his boots under her breath for a little while before she smiled to him and grabbed his hands again.
”I'm a dangerous woman for you, Mr. Boots”, she said looking at him knowingly.
”I wholeheartedly agree. Can you stop giggling so I won't break your toes, Red Fairy”, Natsu told her. ”Your smile's beautiful.”
”Thanks”, blonde said, blushing a little. ”I think you have the most prettiest eyes I've ever seen”, she added quietly. ”I can see sadness somewhere really deep in them though which is heartbreaking to see”, she whispered.
Natsu couldn't say anything. This girl had just read him like an open book and he wasn't sure if he was okay with that. It was true that Natsu was always sad even though he always kept a brave face on. He had always been that way to hide his inner, timeless sadness that he had learned to live with. Only Gray knew what he was really like – until now. This girl whom Natsu didn't even know had just done something he had never expected anyone to be able to do. It... was an unexpected surprise for sure.
”Wait”, blonde said suddenly. Then she gasped. ”I saw you this morning in Balamb!”
”You did?” Natsu asked, not sure what the blonde meant because he had been so lost in his thoughts.
”Yes! You were in that really ugly car and were looking at me!”
Natsu looked at her more closely and realized that she was right – he had definitely been looking at her that morning. It was when he, Gray and Sting were going to the docks to get on the ship that would take them to Dollet for their SeeD exam. When the car had stopped at street lights, Natsu had seen a brown eyed, blonde haired girl looking at him a charming smile on her lipts. How had he been unable to recognize her? He had had difficulties to concentrate on the task at hand because of that encounter at first!
”Yes, I remember now, Miss Distraction”, Natsu teased her and grinned.
”Where were you going to?” Red Fairy asked curiously.
”To do the SeeD exam. Me and few others took it and most of us passed.”
Red Fairy nodded. ”I bet it was intense. I was a little bit worried to be honest..”
”You worry for strangers' well being?”
”I do sometimes!” Red Fairy defended herself. ”You've been haunting my thoughts since we saw each other, Topaz Eyes!”
”You've been haunting my thoughts since we saw each other, too.”
Red Fairy smiled to him, her cheeks having a faint blush on them. It was an unbelievably adorable sight and Natsu couldn't believe this girl had chosen to dance with him instead of going for someone else. He answered to her smile with his and they danced for a little while more until the ballroom was engulfed in flashes of light from outside where someone was shooting fireworks into the sky to celebrate new SeeDs. Natsu thought the fireworks looked really nice and then he looked at the blonde, who had been looking at him.
”Oh, there he is!” girl said all of a sudden. ”I have to go”, she hastily said and then she walked away from Natsu who had just been about to ask her if she'd go for a walk with him or something. All he could look at was how she left him to join a group of her friends who were sitting in the area behind the snack table. Natsu should've known that a girl like the Red Fairy wouldn't be single when he saw her press a kiss on a guy's cheek.
How can I have such a shitty luck? Natsu thought as the guy turned around to greet the blonde. Natsu recognized him to be none other than Sting Eucliffe who looked surprised at first but then he and the blonde girl hugged each other.
Natsu decided to leave the scene before they noticed him standing there on the dance floor alone, looking like a complete fool.