After noticing how full of fluff Finding a way out (another story of mine) was, this idea popped in my mind.
The settings are the same of the original story but let's just say I'm rewriting practically everything related to Juvia.
Warning: Crazy as fuck stuff.
~ Prologue ~
Night had fell over Magnolia Town too early.
Well, that is if your conception of "night" has nothing to do with watches but rather with darkness.
The unstained heavens of that winter afternoon had been suddenly covered by dense clouds which claimed an imminent storm. The gentle breeze was progressively turning into violent winds and the soft rustling sound into a furious melody as the tree tops were frantically agitated. There was no trace of blue in the skies and these utter dullness weakened the belief on the existence of such a color. The penetrating rain started pouring down, puddles of water soon forming on the streets as it became heavier. The upside-down rain made it difficult to see and the lightnings were heard from far away, yet they were clearly coming closer.
Under such conditions, the town's houses were shuttered once people reached their home, leaving empty streets outside.
Gray Fullbuster was currently strolling down one of those desolated extensions, cursing the weather forecast for not giving the alert. He had left his house heading to Fairy tail but when he was almost in the middle of his way, the storm forced him to turn back. With his hands in his pockets, he went back looking at the ground to not step into one of those small pools. At some point he begun swearing for living that far from the guild but stopped his rambling once he reached the bridge separating him from his house.
As he walked over the structure, he turned his head to look at the rise in the river level. It was simply incredible how that water mass seemed annoyed.
He chuckled looking forward and froze by the sight of something.
Standing in the middle of the bridge there was a girl and it was not the fact of spotting another soul outside that made him stop.
The first thing that caught his attention was the color of her hair, blue like the ocean in itself, and its length reaching her waist; then it was her pale, snow like skin, and last but definitely not least, her orbs: it were like her hair in all the beauty of its color, yet blank and empty as nothing he had ever seen.
He snapped out of it when the girl climbed the railing of the bridge. As she did so, Gray noticed she was barefooted and when she had straightened up, her white dress fluttering in the wind, he noticed she was wearing a thin summer nightgown with almost non-existent straps. What the heck is she doing up there like that? he asked himself, and something in the way she was staring at the current answered his question. Oh my god.
He took his hand off his pockets to run with all his might. There was no mistaking it, she was going to jump.
He swiftly climbed the railing too and just when she was about to fall, his right arm caught her and tackled her down, the two of them landing on the rock.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he yelled panting and looking at her. The girl under him blinked several times as her mind processed the fact that she had not fallen. She looked horrified at him and struggled to get free from his hold as he did the same to keep it. As they fought, Gray noticed the warmth her body was irradiating; of course she has a fever.
He bit his lower lip as her tears begun to fall; the heavy rain mixed with them, but just by looking at her tightly closed eyes, he knew they were there. She was feeling impotent under his strength; he too had noticed how weak she was as he grasped her wrists.
Her eyes glanced one last time to the water before passing out.
Gray sighed as he looked her finally lying still. He parted her blue locks with a hand and placed the other on her forehead. Definitely sick.
He hoped off the railing and passed his arms under her frame and knees.
Gray's house was truly simple and small, but it had all the necessary accommodations. The entrance door was beside the fire-place which had two couches in front of it and behind them a table for 4 people. To the right there was a counter separating a small kitchen; the only bathroom was across the entrance and the door besides it led to his bedroom.
As soon as he stepped into his house, he went to the bathroom carrying the girl. He filled the tub with hot water and left her inside of it as he went to light a fire in the living room. Then he came back and took the soaking through girl out of there, wrapping her in a large towel, and placed her on the couch beside the fire.
As he let her drying by the heat, Gray went to clean the wet trial they had left while walking in the house. Once he finished, he took a soda and sat on the other couch, just in front of the sleeping and unexpected guest.
After thinking for a while he recalled hearing how to lower a fever by putting damp cloths on the forehead. He nodded to himself and searched for a bowl to fill with cool water. He dipped a dishtowel into it and after squeezing a little, he placed it on her forehead.
The girl opened her eyes bit by bit, blinking in the middle of the process after a while. Gray was looking out through the window when he caught her movements with the corner of his eyes. "It seems I'm not that bad as a doctor" he commented with a proud smile as she left the couch and started crawling to the fire. Once in front of it, she lifted her hands from the floor and felt the warmth of the fire. Hmm, she seems to like it; she would probable like the flame idiot then he thought while her eyes were still fixed on the scorched wood.
But Gray's mind was forced to leave its train of thoughts when the first images of the girl picking up a stick reached his brain.
His jaw dropped instantly and his eyes widened. It took him a second to rush to her side and just another one to grasp her forearm and freeze it along with the scorched piece of wood. She was obviously going to try to pick another one with her left arm, so he pulled her away from there. She begun kicking like the first time he ruined her suicide attempt, and just like the first time, she passed out after struggling for a while.
Gray made the ice disappear while sighing with relief. He looked at her hand and saw that even if it was just for two seconds, her skin was badly burnt.
Goddamn woman he groaned inwardly. She had scared the shit out of him! She was like a big baby doing dangerous things, the only and main difference was that she was willing to do them, she was not doing them out of child ignorance.
He rubbed his face with annoyance. Why is she so desperately trying to end her life? He stripped down to his underwear in all his frustration as he went to look for the first aid kid.
She woke up with the sound of the persistent rain. Still blinking, she straightened herself up while shifting the blankets of the bed she had lain on and discovered her hand had been bandaged. Her eyes looked at the ongoing storm through the sole and large window of the room before scanning her surroundings; it was a quiet plain room since apart from the bed, a wardrobe and a chair with clothes over it, there was nothing else.
Her feet touched the floor with carefulness as she stood up. She walked to the closed-door and opened it.
Now scanning the living room, her eyes searched for the guy and spotted him lying on the couch asleep. There is he. Without taking her eyes off from him, she turned the door knob of the kitchen and stepped into the room. The first thing she saw was a watch with its longest pointer on the 12 and the smallest one on the 5. The knife set resting on a carved wood soon caught her attention and deciding it was the handiest weapon there, she took the knife with the thickest handle for it seemed to be the one with the largest blade; she had been right.
Finally.
Her thin fingers tightened the grip on the weapon and flung it to her chest.
She gasped as the first red drips reached the floor. She swiftly turned around to face the black-haired guy whose hand had caught the knife's edge.
"Cut it out already" his cold eyes pierced through her as well as his voice.
The blue haired girl quivered, loosening her grasp on the knife and Gray took the chance to toss it away. As if all her forces had been drained away from this, her knees gave in to her weight and slid into the floor. "Why..." she murmured clenching her fists, "why don't you let me die?" her words came out along with her tears which fell over the blood stains on the white tiles.
The guy folded his legs to speak at her level. He rested his chin on his unharmed palm and his elbows on his knees. "I don't want a corpse in my house" he said casually, as a matter of fact while shrugging.
She looked up at him. "Then why didn't you let me jump off the bridge?!" she asked raising her voice in anger.
As he narrowed his eyes a frown appeared above them and the seriousness of his features stopped her shivers. "Death is coward's route to escape from problems or pain; instead of running away from them, face your own darkness, step into every day and feel braver than the day before, for you have the guts to live". A tiny smile crept on his face as the stern lineaments softened a bit. "Everyone has a reason to live and if you think you don't have one, then you just have to find it somewhere".
The tears kept rolling down her cheeks from her widened eyes. She lowered her head and covered her mouth to block out incoming louder sobs.
How was she suppose to look at such intent eyes, the will to live gleaming so brightly in them, with her own blank and empty ones?
After seeing the effect of his words on her, Gray sighed deeply and scratched the back of his neck. He always knew how bad at giving supportive speeches he was, but he had definitely out done it that time. His own experience had tinted his voice while speaking.
He sighed once more before freezing the wound of his hand. The girl didn't do anything apart from crying, not even when he slid his arms under her knees and behind her back, picking her up bridal style like he had done it before. He was careful to not touch her with the ice on his palm but she was trembling on her own accord due to her unrestrained sobbing. As he walked to his bedroom looking at her thin hands covering her face, he couldn't help but think of how psychologically unstable she was, the suicide attempts being the only thing she thought about as soon as she regained consciousness. And as much as he didn't like it, he was pitying her; he had pitied her from the very moment he saw her void eyes staring at the furious water course of the river.
Gray kicked open the door of the room and approached his bed. He placed her delicately over the blankets, as if she was the most fragile object he had ever carried, which was probably true. The girl brought her legs closer to her frame and hugged them with her arms, still pressing her palms on her streaming eyes.
He sat on the edge of the mattress, looking at the curled up female. "Hey" he mumbled in the lowest voice possible. Since she didn't give any sign he spoke again. "Promise me you are not going to hurt yourself anymore" he took the wrist of her bandaged hand and tried to separate it from her face. Surprisingly, she didn't struggle and let him do it. Gray did the same with the other. "Promise me you are not going to kill yourself" he said waiting for an answer.
Her lips never parted but she slightly nodded after a while.
.
.
.
I had warned you about the craziness.
Notes:
1. I'm not a native speaker; as much as I like the language and hope to write like my favourite authors, my narrative is pretty poor and full of mistakes. So I'm sorry for that.
2. Basically, this prologue is the adaptation of their chat on Phantom's roof in this slight AU.
3. It won't be an angst fic (I hate them!). My idea is that of Juvia developing her will to live by being on Gray's side and Fairy Tail's, which means, she will eventually turn in the super ventilated Juvia we all know and love. And my intend is to add some action in the middle, since I love when romance is mixed with adventure or action! I've just been wondering how many people like that as me.
And as for why she is so desperately trying to kill herself... we'll see, so stay tuned!
Yumeko nee.