His leg was bouncing incredibly fast. His arms were crossed over his now-bare chest. His face was contorted into a grimace.
As of late, this was becoming a common occurrence for Gray. Cana wasn't having it anymore.
"Does anything not piss you off anymore, Icy?" She spat, shooting Gray a harsh glare.
"If I'm not supposed'ta be pissed off, then things should stop sucking so bad!" Gray shot back, growling.
"You idiot. What's got you so riled up this time?"
Gray just huffed, pouting in a rather childish way, "It's none of your business, Cana. Back off."
"Wow… You turn 13 and suddenly that teenage angst hits ya' like a brick, doesn't it?" Cana teased, though it was in no lighthearted fashion, "Alright, suit yourself. Have fun moping all day." With a sarcastic, half-assed wave, Cana was off. Gray just growled again and shifted his gaze away.
He was staring over at the other side of the guild, eyes never wavering from where Erza was trying to teach Natsu more about language, or whatever. Gray was starting to get irritated by how much time Erza has been spending with Natsu instead of him, when they could be training and getting stronger, not wasting time over learning nonsense. Especially now that Gray was starting to get close to Erza's level, he wanted to fight with her more often. He was so close. Yet she kept moving away. It ennervated him to no end.
It took a little while, but eventually Erza wrapped it up with Natsu. Almost immediately after Natsu went off to play with Lisanna, Gray sprung after Erza, now determined to have that fight he was longing for.
"You won't beat me this time, Erza!" He shouted, slamming a fist into his open palm to activate his Maker Magic, "I know it!"
Erza just looked over her shoulder, an obviously tired expression on her face, "Not now, Gray. I just got done teaching Natsu."
"C'mon, Erza! I promise ya', it won't last very long…" Gray was smirking at this point, even snickering.
Rolling her eyes, Erza turned away and just started to leave, "No," was the only hint of a goodbye she spoke.
Gray wouldn't take no for an answer, so he took his shot while she was facing away. He leaped after her, hands above his head and shining with the icy mist from his magic, fully intending to swing them down upon her. Yet, before he could even get the chance, he was nearly instantly knocked down to the ground, and Gray could barely move to get himself back up.
When he finally lifted his head, he saw Erza staring down at him, a cross between annoyed and uninterested. It registered that she was the one to take him down so quickly, which didn't make any sense, because the last time he fought her, she was nowhere as strong… "How did you… You could barely beat me last week… How…"
Erza just kneeled beside him, resting her arms on her knees, "Do you really think I was giving it all I had? I've been helping you train."
Gray laid down flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't growing closer to Erza's strength at all… He was left absolutely speechless. Erza just let out a sigh.
"Next time, listen to me when I say no. You won't be getting any more training sessions for a while now." Erza stated plainly, standing and leaving like she originally intended to. Gray remained where he was, still unable to move his gaze from the ceiling. Not only did he feel bad in the sense that he still had so much further to go to reach Erza's level, but he also managed to royally piss her off. He slapped his hands onto his face and groaned. He messed up, big time.
He waited a few days, not wanting to anger Erza any more than he already has. When he thought a reasonable amount of time has passed, Gray went up to Erza after she was finished teaching Natsu more lessons. His hands were behind his back, and he kept his line of sight anywhere but Erza when he approached her.
Erza took one look at him and sighed, shaking her head, "I said no training sessions for a while, Gray."
"Trust me, I know," Gray rushed to say before he continued after a flustered pause, "That's not why I'm here."
Erza tilted her head and raised a brow curiously, "What is it?"
Gray lowered his head to hide his cheeks that were reddened from embarrassment, swallowing hard, "I was hoping that maybe you could...y-y'know, teach me some stuff. I didn't get to learn a whole lot growing up."
The silence after that was prolonged. Gray started to fear for the worst, and he lifted his head to look at Erza, disappointment on his face. Before he could mumble some sort of apology, Erza let out a laugh and grinned, nodding, "I think I could make that work… I would have never expected you to want to learn, especially after you said it was a- oh, what was that you called it again? -'a waste of time.'" She teased, smiling slyly with an eyebrow quirked.
Gray groaned, his cheeks brightening in color while he averted his gaze again, "H-Hey!" He retorted, though he quickly calmed back down, "Sorry about that…"
"We start tomorrow." Erza said, "You'll join me and Natsu in our lessons."
"Actually… can it just be the two of us?" He winced when he realized what he just said, "I-I mean, just me and you- I-I mean-!"
"Yes, Gray, alright!" Erza cut him off. It was probably for the best, since Gray kept tripping over his words, "It'll be just us. That's actually better, because you and Natsu...it's a recipe for disaster."
Gray only nodded, now knowing better and keeping his mouth shut, for the most part, "Thanks."
"I'll see you tomorrow." Standing, Erza started off for the guild doors, "You'd best not be late."
"I-I won't!" Gray called after her, determined to not mess up this time again. He let out a shaky sigh afterward, still embarrassed, especially about how he acted around her.
At least now he could spend more time with her.