Juvia walked into the guild. Her eyes skimmed across the room. Hardly any one was in. Not surprising since she was always one of the first ones in on a morning. Mira greeted her with a smile and an offer of a drink which she politely turned down before sitting at a table near the back of the guild hall to wait for the others arriving and for Fairy Tail to become it's usual self, filled with chatter and free-for-all brawls that were usually started by Natsu and Gray. The hours passed by as more and more of her guild mates entered through the large double doors, group after group. It came of no surprise to her when she saw Gray enter with Lucy, Erza and Natsu, but her head still shot up when she heard his voice. She waved at him, trying to get his attention. Her heart sank slightly when he walked to the opposite side of the room without even acknowledging her existance but over time, she had started growing used to that kind of thing happening. Juvia walked over to the table were the group was now sat, hoping to get to talk to her love interest.
"Gray-sama?", she spoke quietly although she was trying to get his attention. It was no wonder he didn't hear her at first. She repeated herself, louder this time, causing Gray to turn around to look at her in order to see what she wanted.
"What?" He sounded inpatient, like he didn't really wanted to talk to her but was trying to be too polite to tell her to get lost.
"Juvia was wondering if we could do a quest together", she spoke with a slight smile on her lips.
"Sorry, going with Natsu already". Her smile faded as he said it. She nodded her head as she walked away, disappointed that she wasn't able to go somewhere alone with Gray. She told herself that she shouldn't be surprised, he hardly ever went with just her, if he ever did, he always brought Natsu or Lucy or the whole of Team Natsu which made it hard for her to get some time to talk to her. Juvia sat back down where she had been when she first came into the guild and watched Team Natsu leave the guild, smiles all around as they headed out on the quest they had taken moments before.
The quest took a week for the team to complete, not because it was difficult, but because there was so much travelling involved. Each day, Juvia sat in the guild, waiting for Gray's return to it. To her, it didn't seem the same without his presence near her. As soon as Gray walked in through the large double doors, Juvia darted towards him, arms outstretched as she ran. When she was right next to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head against his chest. Gray exclaimed in surprise, although he should have been used to her doing this by now, as he tried to push her off. Juvia let go of him with dismay, realising that he didn't want her to do what she was doing.
"Gra..." she was cut off by Gray.
"Sorry, I have to go talk to Natsu about something". She'd tried to talk to him, to try and get closer to him, but he just shut her out, like he always had done and probably always would do, Juvia figured. She knew that he wasn't one to openly talk about his emotions or feelings, but just once she'd like for him to do or say something to acknowledge her like she wanted him to. It didn't have to be some kind of wedding proposal, although she often fantasised about such things, just a simple display would do for her but he never did no such thing. He never displayed his emotions, but she couldn't help but feel like it was some how her fault. That she might be too clingy for his liking, that she might not be pretty enough for him to like her. She knew that that wasn't the main reason, if it was a reason at all, but a small part of her kept telling her that that was the main reason why he would never say what she wanted him to. She wondered if changing her appearance might help. The most affection he had ever shown was when he caught her on that roof top. Should she go back to how she was before, Secluded and shut off from every one else? Would that help her to win Gray's affection like she wanted it to? She wondered if she should try it. Maybe it would work. Then again, it might not. Juvia walked out of the guild and headed to Fairy Hills. It was late, and she needed to think. She decided to sleep on it before making any decisions.
