Seven Days

Chapter 1- The Beginning

"You're going to the beach?"

In their small kitchen, Natsu nodded. His pink hair was still a scruffy mess, his beloved scarf hastily thrown around his neck, his t-shirt and pajama pants still wrinkled from the night's sleep. He punched some numbers into the yellow stained microwave (somebody had left popcorn in there for too long), and glanced over at Gray.

"Yea, you coming or what?"

Gray set the TV remote down on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch cushions, meeting his roommate's stare. His raven head was messier than usual, and he was still in his pajamas- indigo sweatpants and of course, no shirt.

Natsu and Gray had grown up in the same neighborhood and gone to the same schools, and despite their constant bickering, had become (kind of) good friends. The two had decided to go to the same college- Fairy Tail University (why it was called that, Gray had no idea)- and had ended up rooming together. Well, the two of them and one other person.

"Well, when are you going?"

Natsu paused, staring at the ceiling, thinking. He was silent for a long time, and Gray was beginning to think he had already forgotten the dates of the trip.

"June 17-24. We get there on a Saturday, and leave on a Saturday. It's two weeks from now. The place isn't far, it's only like an hour away," their third roommate, Lucy, answered his question as she waltzed down the hallway. Her red Panda Express uniform was tucked into black dress pants, and it was clear that she had already taken care of her makeup.

Gray didn't mind Lucy. She was a nice girl, had a lot of interesting stories to tell, and she had a special talent when it came to cooking. She wasn't too hard on the eyes, either.

Gray remembered the first time Natsu brought her to their apartment, a little over three years ago. She had been plenty shy and awfully quiet, but since that time, she had gotten much more comfortable with the guys. In fact, she had just moved in with them a couple months ago, but she had visited so often before that nothing really seemed different.

"Sure, I'll go. It's not like I have a job or anything, anyway," Gray agreed, pulling out his phone. Honestly, he wouldn't mind having the apartment to himself for a week, but he also wouldn't mind being at the beach for a week.

"But... You guys do know that it's supposed to rain that entire week, right?"

"It's the only week I can take off of work," Lucy explained, pulling her silky blonde hair into a tight side ponytail.

"Yea, Lucy and I actually have jobs. Unlike you," Natsu exclaimed loudly, shooting Gray a pointed look just as the microwave beeped. Gray rolled his eyes and turned off the TV, but didn't move from the couch.

"I told you guys, I have an interview in July!"

Natsu muttered something under his breath, and Lucy came up behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Whatcha cookin?" She asked, her chocolate eyes gleaming. Natsu pulled out leftover hot wings from the night before, and Lucy rolled her eyes. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before heading to the door.

"Alright guys, I'm off to work. Natsu, try to eat something a little healthier than chicken wings for lunch. And Gray, if you go out later, remember to put on a shirt, okay? We don't need a repeat of last time," She ordered, slipping her shoes on. Heartbeats later, she was walking out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.

Natsu gazed at the closed door with a wistful expression in his eyes. "She really is something, isn't she?" He sighed, smiling softly to himself. Gray simply grunted in reply.

Gray wasn't one for love, or romance, or anything like that, but he had to admit, those two were pretty cute.

Gray sleepily opened an eye, his body bouncing from the gravel road the red SUV was traveling down. Lucy was driving (Natsu couldn't drive anywhere, he always complained about carsickness) and chatting to a sickly Natsu, who hadn't said a word in twenty minutes. Gray sat in the back seat, surrounded by luggage, lazily looking out the window. The car was surrounded by scruffy trees, but the brush was so thick that he couldn't see the ocean. They had been traveling for about an hour, which meant they should arrive any minute now.

He had learned that they were staying at a two bedroom cabin (Lucy and Natsu were sharing a room) at a secluded beach that Lucy's father owned. There was another cabin built there that another family owned, but the group didn't know if anyone was going to be there that week.

Lucy turned a corner, and they pulled into a gravel driveway in-between two wooden cabins. In front of them a huge white truck was parked, and Gray couldn't see what was ahead of that. Lucy turned off the engine and Natsu's face immediately seemed to brighten.

"Welcome to the Heartfilia beach house!" She exclaimed, pushing her door open and stepping out onto the gravel. Gray hopped out beside her and hesitantly walked in front of the truck.

The cabins were surrounded by woods, but the actual space in front of them was bright, shining sand. The ocean stretched out as far as he could see, bright sunlight glinting off of the calm water. To the far left was a long stretch of jetty rocks, and to the far right was a shaky wooden pier. A cozy looking fire pit surrounded by logs was in the center of the clearing, and in the shallow water by the shore, a volleyball net was constructed.

Behind him, a car door slammed. He turned around to see Natsu and Lucy hobbling over to him. Natsu's arm was draped around Lucy's shoulders, probably because the poor guy was still recovering, but besides that, the two seemed beyond excited.

To his right, he heard a faint creaking noise, and he turned to see someone hesitantly opening the door of the cabin. There were nervous whispers, followed by an annoyed grunt, and then suddenly two people tumbled out the door and appeared in front of the curious group.

A tiny girl with choppy sky blue hair and wide, chestnut eyes alongside a tall, gruff man with a spiky black mane and menacing red eyes were walking over to the group. The girl had a bright smile spreading across her face, and was wearing a long summer camp shirt (she had probably volunteered at one) with short red shorts. The guy just had a t-shirt and jeans, and despite the fact that his rough gaze remained, he softened a bit when her tiny fingers wrapped around his arm. They stopped walking, and Gray took a step back. Honestly, that guy was giving him a case of the nerves.

"Hey! I'm Levy," the bluenette introduced, not seeming to notice or care about the heavy awkwardness hanging in the air, "and this is my boyfriend, Gajeel. We came here with his sister, Juvia", she paused, turning around to see if the mystery sister was coming, "but she should be out in a minute. Who are you guys?"

Lucy answered, introducing herself and the guys, and Levy commented on the Harry Potter shirt Lucy was wearing. Moments later the girls were squealing as if they had known each other for years. The three guys exchanged a glance (they knew this feeling all to well), but Gray's attention was jerked back to the cabin as he heard a door slam for the third time.

She had wavy, cerulean hair that tumbled all over her shoulders, and stormy indigo eyes that seemed to know nothing and everything. The loose gray tank top and scruffy jean-shorts she was wearing brought attention her curvy figure, and her lips were curved in an adorable hesitant smile. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

And she was staring right back at him.

She waltzed right up to him, her cheeks tinted pink, and smiled cheerfully.

"I'm Juvia, and you are?"

"Gray."

That's when the first few drops of rain began to fall.