A/N: This is only my second published fanfic and I'm still new to this writing thing but this idea just won't leave my head. Cliche "pretend to be boyfriend/girlfriend" story is cliche, but I'm gonna give it a shot anyway.

Warning! There will be a lot of possible one-sided relationships revealed in future chapters (I'm a sucker for one-sided ships for some reason) but this story will mainly focus on Gray and Erza. And so it doesn't get too serious, some fluffy Natsu/Lucy on the side (because NaLu is OTP goals).

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

Faking and Loving

Prologue

Two years ago...

Fifteen year-old Gray Fullbuster honestly had enough of Erza Scarlet.

Seriously, what shoved up her ass and got stuck there? She was so freaking frustrating!

All he wanted to do was to practice some basketball to get into Fairy Academy's basketball team, make a name for himself, grab the attention of everyone and show off how freaking awesome he was compared to Natsu Dragneel, his pink haired of a moronic friend/rival.

He and Erza were childhood friends for god sakes. They had been friends for eight years already! Why couldn't his scarlet-haired friend support his dream of becoming the best player in all of Fiore? Why does she have to keep forcing her stupid ideals down his throat?

"I don't want to study! Natsu doesn't want to either but he's just too scared to tell you that! Guess what? I'm not!"

"Basketball will get you nowhere in life. Focus on your studies. Look at how much Natsu's improved after I tutored him. Your grades wouldn't have been bad if you actually attended study group sessions with me and Natsu."

"I'm only fifteen years old, just got into high school! I can study all I want when I'm a senior!"

"You'll be too tired to want to study if you're focused on scoring touchdowns."

"Baskets! We shoot baskets! And studying isn't everything!"

"It is when you're a student. Even Natsu agrees with me."

"You're FORCING him to agree with you!"

"Because I'm right. I only want what's best for my friends."

"I'm the one who's right here! It's about me, not you!"

"Oh? Then I challenge you to a fight. If I win, you have to agree with me and admit that I'm superior to you in front of all our friends."

"F-Fine. If I win, you have to promise you won't ever butt in my business and let me do whatever the hell I want!"

Needless to say, Gray Fullbuster lost straight away after holding out for thirty seconds.

He didn't know what got over him, accepting a challenge from Erza all of a sudden. It was painfully obvious to the whole school that Erza Scarlet's strength was a force to be reckoned with, despite her being a girl.

An attractive girl that he could no longer look the same way ever again ever since that incident.

Okay seriously, how does a fifteen year old girl have breasts that…developed? And her long, scarlet hair was like silk when Gray accidentally touched it that one time. And it smelled really nice, like mild strawberries -

"You have a crush on Erza don't you?"

"T-That's just...just no way!"

Gray lightly slapped himself.

Cana was an idiot. Erza was just a big bully, always threatening people around her if they didn't do things her way, especially Gray and Natsu.

She wasn't a girl.

Gray was supposed to admit his defeat and that Erza was right in front of their friends that day but he didn't think things could change so drastically.

He was challenged by Natsu in a one-on-one basketball match after school that day, and all their friends came to see the match that was held in the gym.

Cana, Loke, Mirajane, Lisanna, Elfman, Evergreen, Bixlow, Fried, Levy, Jet, Droy, heck even Laxus came to see the battle between Natsu and Gray!

The only person that wasn't present was Erza.

Gray dismissed it, thinking that Erza probably didn't want to waste time watching him play when she could be studying. As long as Natsu and Gray weren't physically battling it out, he wouldn't have to worry about her wrath.

When they had finally ended the game with Gray winning one point over Natsu, he of course felt like he had a right to brag about it.

"Take that, Natsu! I was always better than you!"

"What was that you crazy porn star?! I let you win!" Their foreheads were bumping against one another.

"Yeah, right!" Gray scoffed. "I even beat Laxus yesterday! So I could easily beat you!"

Natsu fumed. "A-At least I'm smarter than you!"

"What was that?!"

"I got higher grades than you!"

"Only because you're scared of Erza! I'm not!"

"Yeah, right! Stop pretending you ain't scared of her when you totally wet your pants the last time you lost!"

"That was when we were ten, idiot! At least I'm not letting a bully like Erza control my life like you! You can keep kissing the ground Erza walks on but I'm not doing that anymore!" Gray shouted.

All of them were silent. They all looked at Gray with wide eyes, surprised at how genuinely angry he was. Usually his fights with Natsu were never this serious. What had gotten into Gray?

Natsu had backed up a bit from Gray when he shouted, also surprised at his friends' outburst.

Gray was panting. He also didn't know what had gotten into him but he was really sick of all of it. Why were they all looking at him like they were so surprised? Surely he wasn't the only one who thought Erza was practically controlling their lives?

Or maybe they were just surprised that someone had actually pointed it out for once.

Cana rushed up to her raven-haired friend and hit him on the shoulder. She smiled teasingly, hoping to ease the tension. "What are you saying, Gray? That's no way to talk about your lucky charm~"

The others look confusedly at him, as if asking him "what does that mean?"

No one noticed how Laxus who sat quietly during the whole ordeal raise an eyebrow, as if he knew something no one else did.

Gray wasn't sure he was red because of anger or embarrassment. It was anger, he was sure. He turned to Cana, his face practically steaming.

"WHAT LUCKY CHARM?!" He shouted, effectively making Cana stunned. "Erza's only bad luck ever since she came, that's what!"

"Gray – "

"She thinks she can boss people all she wants just because she's a bit stronger than us. So what? And everything she says is right! Everyone else is wrong!"

"Gray, stop –"

"You guys feel the same way don't you? She's constantly telling us what to do. I break a few rules, so what? It's not like I'm hurting anybody! Who does she think she is?! She's an egoistic bully and a bad temper to go with it!"

"I thought I was being a friend."

Everyone turned around to see the source of that almost emotionless voice. It was indeed, Erza Scarlet herself.

The scarlet-haired girl in uniform stood there, an unreadable look on her face. She walked up to Gray, her shoes making slight tapping sounds as it hit the floor.

"Erza! I thought you said you had something to do after school." Mirajane said, hoping that things would not get out of hand. Lisanna shook her head at her sister nervously. Was it just her, or did Erza's eyes look a bit...red?

"It was already settled."

Gray had no idea she would be here. How long was she there? Did she hear everything he had to say?

But being unable to read her emotions, and stressed from the looks that were given to him by his friends, only made him say things he had buried deep down. They were looking at him as if he was wrong. Even Natsu!

"As usual, being such an immature kid like yourself, you wouldn't have the guts to say these things to me face to face." Erza said frowning. "You'd rather talk about me behind my back."

"I'm not an immature kid! Stop treating me like one."

"You have yet to prove me wrong."

Their friends looked at each other nervously. Natsu opted to stay quiet, frowning at Gray himself.

"If you thought you were being a friend, then you suck at it." Gray said as he walked closer to face her. He looked straight in her eyes in a serious manner she didn't think he was capable of. He was internally glad that he had managed to gain a bit taller. Now they were finally the same height. And they were only a few centimeters from each other.

"What?"

"Friends don't treat each other like shit! Friends don't force each other to do things they don't want to do! Friends support each other's dreams!" Gray shouted at her.

"You honestly want me to believe you want to become the best basketball player in Fiore? Don't think I don't know you! You just want to be popular!" Erza retaliated, still in that strict mode of hers she was so used to.

"What's wrong with being popular playing something I like?! It's my dream! I'm not hurting anyone!"

"It's not your true dream is it?"

"What do you know about my true dream?!"

Erza was quiet at his outburst. She looked like she was about to say something but opted not to. Gray was panting already, and he felt like a burst of energy burst into him seeing Erza looking like she was backing down. For once.

"I'm sick and tired of you treating me like shit okay?! I'm not a kid anymore, I know what I want! I don't need you to tell me what's best!"

"But – "

"Everyone else thinks the same thing! You think we like you bossing us around, forcing us to follow the rules all the damn time. Well guess what? We don't!"

"Gray, that's not true!" Mira denied, glancing the slowly dejected look on Erza's face. But Gray didn't seem to notice.

Lisanna was at Erza's side. "He doesn't mean that, Erza!" She said forcing a smile to hopefully ease the redhead, who was clenching her fists.

"Gray, you better shut up now." Cana whispered harshly. She looked towards the other guys for help. But they were looked nervous and were strangely quiet throughout all this. Did they actually think like Gray too?

"No, let him talk." Erza said her lips in a straight line.

Gray was on fire now. "How long do you expect me to handle your rage at every little wrong thing we do? Every rule we break?! We're just fooling around, there's no actual harm done, but you're getting mad as if we were on crack!"

Erza clenched her fists harder. She was trembling now, not that Gray was in his right mind to actually notice.

"You think I like you always butting in when Natsu and I fight? You think I'm okay with you practically cracking my skull against his every time you force us to stop fighting?! Natsu's an ass but at least he treats me as an equal. You're always treating people as if they're below you! You take pride when you beat me and leave me embarrassed, my own pride being stepped on! You call that a friend?!"

"T-That's –"

"- I know what's best for me. If I say I don't wanna study, then I don't have to! You're not my mom, or my sister or anything!"

It was so difficult to describe the shock that reverberated through Erza at his cutting words. Her eyes were wide with unshed tears. Her trembling fists were so tightly clenched, she was afraid that she might have drawn blood. Her lips were in a straight line and she was painfully aware of how hot and sweaty she had become.

"You're a sorry excuse for a friend. I hate you!"

As soon as the those poisonous words left his mouth, Gray knew he was going to regret it some day.

What was a long friendship of eight years between an initially quiet and socially awkward scarlet-haired girl and a proud, yet friendly raven-haired boy were reduced to almost nothing in that instant.