Inspired partly by the everyday life at Sturbucks :D you know it happened to you, too! Right?

I'll pretend I did not write it within an hour, in a hurry, because I forgot about the fest... *humms innocently*

Happy Graylu Week!

GrayLu Week 2017

Day One

Grey

It was not his day.

No, it was an understatement.

It was the worst ofdays, and it was definitely his.

Not only was he exhausted after a regular working day, during which the exploitation of his brain made it almost impossible to think anymore, but also someone blocked him on the parking lot and he could not leave until that dumbass came back. He was so angry that there was just one thing to help him.

Coffee.

He needed coffee.

Therefore, he automatically directed himself to the coffee shop at the end of the street. There was a Starbucks café. Now, he rarely went there, thinking it stupid to pay for coffee that much only because his cup would have a well-known and commonly recognized logo printed on it. Moreover, their coffee was not that good, he recalled.

Still, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Immediately, the strong scent of coffee and whipped cream filled his nostrils. Gray did not resist a temptation to inhale the redemptive fragrance before moving to the counter to read the menu. His dark blue eyes scanned the writings on the wall, seeking some plain coffee. Yet, the frostitos caught his eye and he felt a little bit better when he thought about taking it.

With his mind made up, Gray approached the ordering place and huffed when he fund no one to take his order. His annoyance was getting out of hand; seemed that his day was not getting better anytime soon.

Finally, a woman walked out from the staff room and approached him with a wide grin.

"Hello! Sorry for the wait, I had to add coffee to the express. So! What would you like?"

The brunet did not tear his eyes away from the menu. "A frappuccino, venti, to take."

"Which one? We have Vanilla Bean Crème, Caramel, Mocha, Strawberries&Creme, Very Berry, Cool Lime—" The woman chirped, apparently not sensing his bitter mood.

"The Lime, then." He cut her off and, still without sparing a look at the seller, looked down on his wallet. "How much?"

"It'll be 3,95$."

"Right."

He paid and started fussing with his wallet, at the same time missing a question. He only realized the vendor said anything when she finished and he felt observed.

"What?"

"Your name." The woman giggled. "I need to write it on the cup."

Gray frowned. He forgot about this stupid thing. "It's Gray. With an a."

"Alright! We'll call you by the name."

"Thanks." He said automatically and moved to stand on the other end of the counter. Waiting for his drink, he gazed around the café to see whether there was someone he knew. He sighed when he did not find anyone. Gray was definitely not in the mood to meet with anyone today.

So, when the barista called him, he grabbed the cup and without sparing a look at the happy woman, Fullbuster fled.

Only did he sip the coffee when he reached the parking. It was good, he had to admit. However, when he looked at his car, the idiot who blocked him was still there. Gray closed his eyes, praying for patience, and decided to wait in the car. That way, he was sure to yell at the driver when they came over. So, to open the door, he stood the cup on the top of his car. And when Gray turned to sit down and reached to grab the coffee, he froze.

Somehow, the bad day turned into a very bad day.

On the cup, there was supposed to be his name. Yet, the wording in a slightly italicized font read:

Grey. With an a.

Anger bubbled up within him. That bitch! He specifically told her his name was spelled with an a! She had to do it on purpose, it was impossible that she was as stupid as to write something so… So… Idiotic!

Thus, allowing the emotions to take the best of him, Gray shut the door and turned around. In his fury, he did not see it was stupid to go there and make a fuss over a misspelled name. But he was beyond that now.

He reached Starbucks much faster than he had left it. The man pushed the door again and stormed inside. Right away, he saw the back of the head of the woman who had served him and Gray went straight at her. She turned her head and smiled at the man invitingly.

"Oh, you're back."

"What. Is. This?" Gray hissed and showed her his cup.

The blonde's eyes slid over the plastic cup and she made an innocent expression. "You said you wanted to be Grey with an a. What's the problem?"

He swallowed a swearing word and barked out: "Are you illiterate? Or you stick to the level of intelligence assigned to your hair color? Because anyone else would've realized it was meant to be G-R-A-Y."

The damn woman did not even blink with irritation, the gleeful grin still plastered on her face. "Well, are you always this pleasant? Or assume people are idiots and treat them as such? In that case, maybe I should've stuck to your real name? Lemme guess, Dickhead?"

Gray blanched. "You—"

"So, G-R-A-Y, do you need anything else?" Since it seemed he was still collecting his thoughts, the blonde added: "Y'know, waltzing in and arguing about one misspelled letter is kind of extraordinary, if you ask me."

"No one asked you—"

"But. I've got work to do." She eyed a new customer approaching the selling point. "So, if you want to continue arguing, I finish in half an hour. If not, but you wish to make a complaint, at the very same hour the manager comes to the café. Either way, you can wait."

Gray scowled. He was so angry that he did not have any desire to do what she told him to do. However, he realized that if he wanted to get her fired, he would have to talk to the manager nonetheless. Thus, begrudgingly, he nodded and sat himself at a nearby table. He had half an hour to waste, therefore, he wanted to annoy the hell out of the woman and observe her every move till the end of the shift.

And so he did.

At the beginning, he was simply looking for another thing to pick on. She was bubbly and chatty with other customers, but there was something strange in her antics. Still, Gray was not going to dwell on that.

Yet, after a few minutes of staring at the woman, he realized another thing. She was beautiful. Now that he took a good look at her, he had no idea how on Earth it had escaped him before. She was one of those natural beauties, with her skin like porcelain, her smile radiant, her eyes bright. Also, when she crossed the counter a few times, he had a good view of her shape, and Gray had to admit she was simply gorgeous.

Pity she was also a bitch.

But she was also a minx, it seemed. The woman was wanton, and it did excite him in a way. He was used to females being sugary towards him alright. Nevertheless, she was not one of those. Maybe that was the reason he stopped glaring at the blonde and started following her with his eyes with more interest. Only did he comprehended what he was doing when he caught himself staring at her ass when she was cleaning the nearby table.

Gray gulped. Shit, it was not good.

To divert his attention, he checked the hour; she still had five minutes of the shift left.

So, what was he to do? Should he wait for the manager and get the woman fired, or should he relent? Maybe it would be a wise move… Or maybe not, because she was obviously not suited for the job. Fullbuster stretched his arms and licked his lips. Okay. He had been waiting for the past twenty-five minutes, and he would talk to the manager. Period.

True to the blonde's word, at the right time another person walked in. It was a woman with long white hair and an angelic smile. She approached the blonde and exchanged a few words with her, then turned to him and waved. Gray did not react other than forcing his frown on. The women nodded and came to him together. At the same time, someone changed the blonde behind the counter.

"Hello, sir. Thank you for kindly waiting for me. Now, Lucy tells me you wanted to talk to me. I am Mirajane Strauss, the manager. So, how can I help you?"

Gray was debating with himself whether he should just tell on the blonde—Lucy, wasn't it—or let it go. Yet, when the woman whose fate was still in question only cocked a brow at him, his patience run out.

"Miss Strauss, your worker… Luigi, right?" He did not let a shadow of satisfaction pour on his face when the woman flinched and narrowed her eyes at him. "She was rude to me. She purposefully misspelled my name…" There, he showed the cup. "But also called me a dickhead and was sassy."

Mirajane frowned. She studied his face, then turned to Lucy, who had a neutral expression. "Is this true?"

"Yes, although I just did what he asked of me. And he called me an idiot first."

"But he's your customer. You cannot call them dickheads."

Lucy had the decency to look ashamed. "I know, but—"

"Oh my, what am I to do? Lucy, you're not fired, but you'll be on a leave for a month."

Gray smirked. Even though he hoped the manager had fired the minx, he was rather content with the punishment. Then, the manager turned to him.

"And I am terribly sorry about this situation, sir. I hope you'll forgive us this cheek and continue to come here."

"Well, yeah. Thanks." The man scratched his head and nodded. "Good day, then, Miss Strauss."

"And good day to you, sir."

He left the café and exhaled with content. Yes, it was a good decision to come back and make a fuss over it. No matter how silly it was, his mood was much better.

He was already reaching his car when he suddenly heard:

"Hey! Wait up!"

Gray stopped and turned his head around, surprised. Who, he? No, impossible. Thus, he resumed walking, but suddenly someone almost knocked him off his feet.

"What do you think—" He started sputtering, but then went silent.

The bitchy woman from the café was the one who chased him and stopped him in the middle of the street.

"Sorry, I know I look like a loon right now, but just let me say…" She blabbed, not letting him voice a thing. "I am sorry about coming at you. I really am—"

"If you think I'll come back there and make the manager change her mind about you—"

"But! I am more than grateful you talked to Mira and she gave me the leave." Lucy grinned.

Gray stared at her, not understanding. What?

"You see, I was looking for a way to get fired. She didn't accept any of my refusals, and you seemed pissed enough already to go and tell on me…" She batted her eyelids and shook her head. "Sorry I was so terrible towards you. I actually have nothing against you, at all. So, um… Are we good?"

He could not believe it.

He fucking couldn't believe his ears.

She used him to get fired?!

"What the fuck?" He said out loud, startling her a bit.

"Umm, I know it sounds crazy."

"You are crazy!" Gray stated and, again, went silent.

They were standing there, looking at each other, one examining the other. He could see she was starting to move uncomfortably and he felt satisfaction upon seeing her squirming under his cold gaze. He could be cruel and cold when he wanted to, he knew.

But. Maybe he was overreacting? She did apologize…

So, he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Okay. It's… fine. I can't say I get it and that I approve, but oh well. I guess you had your reasons…"

Lucy's face brightened instantly. "Really?"

He nodded.

"Thank you! Oh, I was so worried you would be furious."

That caught his attention.

"Why?"

Lucy stopped her rambling and raised her brows. "Huh?"

"Why do you care?"

He observed how her cheeks blushed, then how she bit her lip. Finally, she smiled a little and admitted:

"I wonder… Would you accept an apology gift from me?"

"Meaning?"

"Let's eat dinner together. My treat. I took advantage of your foul mood and I want to try and cheer you up a bit."

Gray gaped at her. Did he hear right? Or had he lost his mind, too? First she belittles him and does everything just to spite him, and now she was inviting him to dinner? What the hell?!

"Well?" She smirked.

And suddenly he was certain of what he wanted.

He cleared his throat and huffed, half-smiling. "I… am not familiar with this level of spontaneity and impulsivity. But I can't say it didn't catch my attention." Gray smirked. "Alright. When?"

"Now?" She smiled brightly and tilted her head. "Or maybe in the evening? We can go to a great restaurant I know, they serve amazing seafood, and then we'll see."

He grinned and agreed to the second option, at the same time offering to give her a lift since they were standing next to his car.

Later, after a great date and while taking Lucy to his apartment, he thought it funny how a terrible day could turn out quite the opposite.