Hello. This is story I just can't shake off, I've fallen in love with this new project. I haven't given up on "A Spark of Happiness", I just decided to hold it back a bit. br This story is based of the band Issues and the thought of Gray being Micheal Bohn just tickles me pink. I love it. This is the first chapter of this story. I hope you guys enjoy it. ~
...
Walking out of the tour bus, Gray was greeted by a small crow of fan girls asking for his autograph and pictures with him. At the moment he wasn't too sure how to function due to the fact he had just woken up. He grunted with each tug of his arm that a couple of girls were bold enough to actually pull off. His sloppy smile was shown to every camera shoved into his face by the teenage girls. Occasionally one amongst the bunch would ask politely in seeing his state, that he appreciated. When the girl would ask nicely, he'd knock it up a notch by slither his arm around the young girl's neck and gave a grin instead of a smile. Of course the rest would want the same reaction from him but when he wouldn't budge, they'd give up. Some would actually throw their arms around his waist forcing him then to place his hand on their shoulders. In signing a couple more autographs, his bodyguard stepped off the last silver step to pull him through and shoe away the crowd of girls surrounding him.
"Okay. Okay. It's time for Gray to go." The blonde man spoke firmly. Most of the girls rushed back to their spot in line fearing they'd might lose their spot. Once the last two wouldn't leave, the taller man only had to eye them so they would.
"Thanks, Laxus. I thought they'd never leave." Gray murmured. If he hadn't just woken up, he'd be more than happy to attend those excited fangirls, but their screaming and overly excited voices were giving him a headache.
"Yeah, don't mention it. It's my job." Laxus replied.
His feet dragged as he walked with Laxus around the block to a nearby restaurant. He opened the door to step inside having Laxus follow behind him. Once they ordered, they joined the rest of the band along with their crew. Loke, Natsu, Freed, Sting and Rogue sat around the table with with Bixlow, Jellal, Erza, Mira, Gildarts, Cana, Minerva and Elfman. Their crew was small compared to other bands out there but their little family was well oriented and got along pretty well. Everyday for lunch (in this case breakfast) - during tour - they held daily meetings, mostly it was just Erza and Gildarts telling them their schedule. What time rehearsal was, how long their meet and greets were going to be, - that mostly depended on how many people would show up to the shows in the first place- or what time curfew call was that night.
Erza stood before the table they had for themselves - almost an the entire back section- She cleared her throat tapping her pen against her clipboard as she tried gaining everyone's attention. "Alright, that's enough chatter!" She exclaimed to the murmurs lingering among the tables. "Thank you." her voice softened. "Now, Since today is the first day of the tour and you all had to wake up pretty early, you can complain later. Seeing as there's already a few teens in line to enter, We'll have to move our first meeting with the other two bands along with their crews here. It's not too far but it's far enough for us not to have too many interruptions, this will be the perfect place. They will arrive momentarily so I'd advise you to be on your best behavior."
The crew half sighed half cheered. They were all over the fact they'd woken up at 7am just to have this mandatory meeting. With everybody on their best behavior, - in the beginning for the most part - the crew greeted the rest of their tour buddies with hugs and handshakes. Old friends and new, the crews and bands got along well.
One particular blunette stuck out like a sore thumb for Gray. She had long wavy azure hair, her skin pale, curves that could kill and big deep ocean blue eyes. Her bangs covered her forehead just enough to cover her eyebrows but Gray could tell they were well done. Well, for what he knew about feminine grooming. Almost nothing but he liked it. She was definitely a newcomer to this tour and he was anxious to meet her. He took long strides across the diner to stand before the girl he now had all his interest in, he saw her smile and his stomach tightened. How was that even possible? He cleared his throat making sure his voice didn't come off as heavy with sleep due to still being fresh out of bed and spoke, "You're new arent you?" He asked.
"You've noticed?" The female fidgeted with her fingers. "J-Juvia has only been with New Year for only one tour before this one. She's still a bit rusty."
"Juvia, huh?" He noted. "I'm Gray. What do you do with New Year?"
"Hello, Gray-Sama. Juvia is the merch girl. She used to do merch for another band two years back but left when her friend Levy-San introduced her to dancing and now they're both rodies for New Year. What does Gray-Sama do?"
"'Sama'? Gray is just fine." He saw her nod. " That's cool though, I would've never guessed you did merch." He chuckled. "I'm one of the lead singers of Black Diamonds."
"One of them?" Juvia questioned.
"Well, yeah. Natsu does all the high notes and singing, I just scream." he clarified bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his head.
"You scream? Like Gajeel-Kun. He's the one doing that though, his voice isn't as clear as some of the others Juvia has heard." Juvia looked up at Gray speculantly.
"Well, I wouldn't know if I'm as clear but I guess you'll find out later." Gray murmured nervously.
"Juvia thinks Gray is good at what he does." She crossed her arms under her chest. Even though she was as nervous as could be, she showed off a completely different exterior. Gray liked that, seeing her confidence rise quickly made him wish all women were like that in a way. Though he wished some weren't as bold as to drag him back to the green room to give him a lap dance, or make it painfully obvious in showing him what they really wanted.
"Thanks." Gray muttered.
...
After greeting each other, throwing off flirtatious grins between males and females and countless friendly insults amongst friends, the crews got to work, unloading the equipment, setting up merch tables, preparing for rehearsal. The bands gradually went back to buses. Gray for the most went back to sleep, though the blunette was now on his mind and his slumber didn't come as quickly as he wanted it to. Her face came into view followed by her neck then chest, the rest of her generous torso, luscious hips and shapely legs. He wondered what it'd be like if he could touch her skin, what it really that soft? Was she as soft as he imagined? Would would it be like if he had her in the back lounge of the bus, beneath him, breathing heavily and having her cheek dust a pink hue as his lips ran over her bare che-.
His face heat up and he closed the curtain of his bunk. He turned his back to the curtain letting his face practically shove into the AC. He never had those kinds of thoughts of himself with another woman, he's thought of the actions themselves before and he's done that and more with a few women in his lifetime but his thoughts never had a specific woman in mind. Especially one he had just met that day.
Juvia. Funny. He'd never heard that name before and now, it was sticking to him. Gray groaned, Why was she on his mind now and in that way when he was trying to take a nap before rehearsal. He needed to focus on getting his rest but everytime he closed his eyes, the same thoughts of the blunette came to his mind and now he began to wonder if she was thinking of him too or maybe just focusing on setting up and getting to work. Crazy how she was out there in the heat while he was inside in the AC, it made him want to go after her and bring her back into the bus for her to cool off. He knew he couldn't but he was just trying to be nice or it could be he just wanted to spend more time with her.
His attempt of sleep was useless. Now all he needed was coffee and he would be good to go. He climb out of his middle bunk pulling his pants along with him. He slipped on the clothing and fastened his belt before he check his reflection in the hall mirror. Seeing he looked fine, he shrugged a shoulder and walked out toward the main hall of the bus. He sat on one of the booths settling into the leather and let out a slight groan.
"Hey, Loke. How far is the nearest starbucks? I need a double." Gray's voice was gruff and heavy with the sleep that never came.
"Couldn't sleep huh?" He responded pulling out his phone to check for Gray's request. "Could it be that something or someone clouded your thoughts?" Loke teased as his free hand pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
"No. Just couldn't sleep." Gray muttered. He slouched over to lean his head on the table, thankful that for that moment at least his bangs covered his eyes. Loke knew he was lying, he had been eyeing Gray with Juvia the remainder of breakfast. They hadn't stopped talking for those two hours while everyone else mingled with amongst each other.
Loke chuckled and with a shake of his head he spoke up once again. "It's one block down, you wanna go or send Laxus or Elfman?"
"We'll be fine. Just let Erza know and it'll be fine." Gray said. He got up to push Loke out of the bus, picking up his hoodie from the hanger on his way out. He could use some fresh air anyway. In telling Erza, the two men headed south for their destination - the nearest Starbucks.
Passing by a couple fans of not only Gray but Loke as well, the two made it to the coffee shop. Thankfully Gray had grabbed his thin layered hoodie otherwise, they wouldn't give him any service as the sign at the entrance read "No shoes, No shirt, No service." He'd have to remember that every time he went into any store or restaurant. They all said the same thing and it annoyed him.
As they waiting in line he turned to see Juvia already in line. In fact, she was right in front of him. His blush from earlier returned and he had to shake his head to prevent the same thoughts from earlier to return.
"Would that be all, Miss?" The cashier asked.
"Yes, Tha-"
"Give me an Ice coffee and I'll pay for what she ordered." Gray cut in, he flashed a sly smirk in her direction whilst he took out his wallet from his pocket to pay the young man.
"G-Gray-Sama... You shouldn't-"
"I told you Gray was fine and put that card away." He told her sternly, he liked to see the shade of pink cover Juvia's cheeks.
"Your name, sir?" The cashier asked once again.
"Gray." He responded as he took back his credit card.
He pushed Juvia out of the line and let a smirking Loke order. Gray brushed it off, he just focused on getting Juvia out of the rushing crowd of the café. He gently pushed her into a corner where he stood beside her.
"Don't." He cut in before Juvia could speak, her lips parted as if she wanted to protest for earlier and he wasn't having it. "My treat. Don't even say anything else on that subject."
Gray heard her groan in frustration which made him chuckle and he nudged her side. Juvia couldn't contain the heat on her cheeks, she cupped her face averting her gaze from his and letting out another sly groan. "Gray-Sa- uhh.. I mean Gray should have let Juvia pay but since he didn't, Juvia would like to thank him for her tea." She flushed.
"No problem. Are you set up or do you need help?" He asked a bit curious, not that he really cared, he just wanted to spend more time with her.
"Is Gray really interested?" She finally returned her gaze to his, she had a hunch of what his answer would be but she knew it was better to let him answer.
"Of course." He lied. "Do you need the help or not?"
"No. Juvia's finished but we can go back to the venue and explore it. From what Juvia's seen, it's beautiful." She smiled.
"Sure." He responded.
After a few minutes of waiting, Gray took longish strides, once he reached for their coffees and her bagel and they joined Loke in heading back to the tour bus area in front of the side entrance. Loke of course greeted the three waiting girls with one guy standing at the side entrance. The guy was probably just there to accompany the girls but Loke did his thing, he pulled the back of Gray's hoodie to pull him back to the few girls. He made him push off his hood to seem a bit more presentable before signing their pictures and notebooks then proceed to posing for a picture or two.
Juvia smiled as she patted Gray's back, he turned to nod her way before she disappeared into the venue. He had to hold back the urge to sigh. Instead he put on his best smile while continuing to talk to the guy to came with the girls. About his age, 22, if not younger but definitely not older. The girls did look like they were underage and although they showed a lot of interest in him, he wasn't about to deal with a lawsuit.
"That's enough, you guys can't be here. Please clear the door. Gray and Loke have to go rehearse." Jellal came up behind Gray. Gray waved off to the small group of fans before he entered the venue.
The venue wasn't that big, though it wasn't small either. Big enough for a couple hundred people that's for sure. It was an old theater, the stage was big enough for them to jump around freely like they always did. The ground floor before the stage was big enough for one hundred people, it topped off with a bar at the bottom right corner then it moved up a two whole sections and at the back another bar, this one a bit bigger than the one on the general admission crowd area. The balcony was pretty big, but he couldn't see if it had a bar as well. He could imagine it did. The people coming to see them were in for a real treat, if they were over 21 anyway.
...
After rehearsal, Gray's band was due for an interview and lunch after that. Loke, Natsu, Sting, Rogue and Freed all walked over to sit on a couch with the interviewer and a cameraman in front while the blonde held the mic. He greeted them giving them a little heads up on the questions he'd ask and giving them a few moments to ready themselves, soon after the interview began.
"Hello, folks of the Internet. This is Ryan Bar with the latest updates and today we have some very special guests from Magnolia - that I and everyone here in Crocus love- we have Black Diamonds. Go ahead and introduce yourselves, fellas."
"I'm Natsu."
"Sting."
"Gray."
"I'm Freed."
"Rogue."
"and I'm Loke."
They all went by passing around the mic before handing it back towards Ryan. Ryan began asking questions about their music, joked around, going off topic and telling stories of past tours, weird encounters with fans and finally asked about their love lives. Each of the mean were of course single. None really cared for relationships at the moment. Maybe when they found someone worth it, but none were really into speculation at the moment.
"Alright, it seems we are out of time. Thanks, guys for hanging out with me. I'll see you guys at the show later tonight. This is Ryan Bar signing off." Ryan cued his outro as the guys waved towards the camera. He had to edit the outro in later that night or the next morning. He turned back to the guys thanking them once again for the chance to let him interview them. The guys joked around with him a bit more before heading off, they couldn't contain their hunger any longer, especially Natsu.
...
Natsu, Sting, Freed, Loke, Rogue and Gray along with Mira, Erza, Jellal and Minerva walked down the street in the opposite direction for lunch. Cana, Laxus, Elfman, Gildarts and Bixlow had their work cut out for them, not to mention they'd just had lunch.
"Man, I'm starvin'. I didn't think I'd go four hours without food." Natsu whined. He patted his belly letting his hand linger against his shirt.
"Man, Natsu. You don't stay away from food for long huh?" Sting shook his head as walked beside Natsu.
Gray ahead with Loke and Rogue, him being in the middle brought him to be the source of their fun. His face heat up, not with embarrassment but with irritation. When would they shut up and stop teasing him about the blunette he'd been pursuing all day. Which - thanks to them - was now back on his mind. He groaned trying his best to ignore the two even though it was useless, as he could still head what they were talking about.
"So Julia, huh? I knew she'd be your type. Are you looking for a fling or is it true love?" Loke chuckled.
"It's Juvia, idiot." Gray corrected. "And I ain't looking for either so shut up!"
"Oh, feisty. Looks like she's got you on edge, brother." Rogue but in.
"Shut up, imbeciles. I ain't in the mood to listen to you retards go on and on about crap you don't know."
"Oh do enlighten me, I'm dying to know the details." Loke encouraged lightly though he was obviously just looking for a good laugh.
Although Rogue never really was into teasing anyone about girls, this nicked him. Gray in agonizingly embarrassment was his favorite pass time. That and he he had nothing else to do at the moment. "Oh Juvia, where art thou, Juvia?" He raised his voice an octave.
"I said shut your mouth, fuckers!" Gray crossed his arms across his chest, slightly irritated at his two best friends. "Geez, you guys are a pain in the ass. Why am I even friends with you?"
"Oh come on, Gray. It's not so bad. You love us." Rogue teased. "Just as much as you love Juvia." He couldn't help but add, seething his arm around the raven haired man's shoulder whilst Gray just groaned at his comment. "Besides, it's not like you have any better candidates. I mean, Natsu and Sting? Ha. Yeah right and Freed.. Well he's actually pretty cool so I guess he'd be next in line. Though he, Laxus and Bixlow are pretty tight. Jellal, actually, he's better but since he started dating Erza, he's a bit tougher on us than he used to be."
"Talk about tough love." Loke added. "Rogue? Aren't you and Sting pretty tight? Why count him out?"
"Eh, he's another version of Natsu and we all know Natsu is pretty idiotic." Rogue shrugged.
"We heard that!" Natsu and Sting yelled simultaneously. Gray chuckled at that.
"You guys are all idiots." Gray laughed.
"You're part of the bunch, bud! We go down, we take you down with us." Rogue retorted.
Their lunch was nothing out of the ordinary. Eating at a fast food joint wasn't their greatest gist but food was food. They couldn't care less where they were as long as they ate. They were just glad the show was still two hours away, so taking their time in eating was no big deal. They were the last band playing, headliners actually. Their crazy run wasn't for another three hours. They just had to be there an hour earlier for one last sound check and their warm up.
Three hours to go till show time. They were all nervous, only because it was the first show of this tour. Also not to mention they were performing song from their first full length album for the first time. Their EP had done well two years back, so naturally they'd gone for the full length album last summer and a year later there they were, just three hours till show time.
Natsu groaned. "Man, I sure am stuffed. Best meal of this tour yet."
"It's only been the first." Freed rolled his eyes. It's not that he disliked Natsu, the whole band loved each other like brothers they were all pretty close, it was just that Natsu always took things up a notch and suffered his own consequences minutes before the show. That. They didn't like. He'd be barfing most of his lunch (or dinner for them) half an hour to go but the good thing about him was that he always bounced back once he stepped on stage.
"Alright, boys. Looks like there will be only two hours of signings today. One group picture for each fan and one thing signed only. We've got a full house today." Gildarts announced.
"Full house how?" Natsu's eyes beamed as if he was an excited child about to enter an amusement park.
"It's sold out." Jellal clarified with a smug smirk. "Looks like your fanbase is growing. Congratulations, guys."
"Drinks for everyone on me." Gildarts exclaimed as their section cheered.
...
One hour - twenty minutes until showtime. Everyone but Erza and Freed were pretty buzzed, so sneaking in through the side of the venue wasn't such an easy task. Gray and Natsu slug against each other making it hard for either of them to stand. Thier insults became sloppy as their fists barely missed each other. If Erza didn't break apart their measly attempts to rip each other apart, It wasn't hard just irritating and they needed to sober up as soon as possible. Erza made a mental note to kill Gildarts for letting them drink so close to show time. She helped Gray sit with Mira at their merch table, while she went to chase after the rest of the guys with Freed. It wasn't an easy task but Natsu and Sting were making Erza's life impossible for now.
Gray looked around, the motion making his head spin and he groaned. His head wasn't going to like this tomorrow, apart from the multiple shots and bottles of beer he knew he had a little over an hour to sober up. How the hell was he going to pull that off? He sighed and turned to Mira, asking for a bottle of water. His brain was only half numb, meaning he wasn't completely out of it. He still knew how to function. Thank God. Once Mira handed him the bottle, she stepped aside to resume her previous activity - counting the merchandise. Gray heard someone call him and even though his hearing was muffled, he knew that small voice that called for him. He looked up at the blunette standing before him, behind her was his old friend Lyon (Which was in the band Juvia was doing merch for.)
"You're not dying, are you?" Lyon asked.
"No, you dumbass. I'm just tipsy." Gray retorted.
"Oh Gray, Juvia can help you sober up. Lyon-Sama just wanted to see how Gray was doing before his set." Juvia explained.
"Uhh - I'm fine. Thanks." Gray uttered. "Go play, We'll watch you from here." He told Lyon, who nodded in understanding before walking off toward the stage. Gray didn't know that the only reason Lyon walked away so willingly was because he only had ten minutes till showtime meanwhile Gray had an hour - fifteen minutes, not because he trusted him with her.
Gray pat the chair beside him for Juvia to sit. His lips twisted up as his eyes fell on her. She took the offered seat and giggled softly, knowing he probably wasn't his usual self. "Gray. How about we take you to the green room to cool off, without all the prying eyes." Juvia suggested.
"Hm." He simply hummed and stood. Tipsy or not, he wasn't about to act a fool. He needed to maintain his cool, especially in front of all the prying teens. He offered Juvia his hand and she complied by curling her fingers around his. She gave Lucy full authority of her post meanwhile Gray sobered up, the blonde just nodded and waved her off. Although Gray was about to enter a little show for himself, the real performance was yet to come.
...
I have to say, I'm a bit nervous. I loved writing this, this is just based on what I've seen at shows myself. Some might be personal experiences and a lot of it will be made up. I have seen what goes on backstage at shows so it's not all made up. I'm not saying I'm an expert in this or that I've seen everything but I have my sources and way of getting around. I'm not a groupie, I swear. T/\T.
