The Apple That Started This Al
Summary: Well, who would have thought that an apple could be the start of a beautiful love. GRAYZA.
" Come on, Erzaaaaaa!"
" Just do it this one time! For me? Please!"
" Erza just do it!"
Erza sat across Levy, Mira and Lucy, who have been whining and complaining for 2 hours straight.
" Lucy, Levy, I love you guys. But why do I have to throw an apple across the room?" Erza sighed, annoyance clearly in her voice. As she glared at the three girls.
" Wel~ we have read this in really really cool book that if you throw an apple across the room. The person the apple hits is going to be your future love! And it actually worked!" Levy beamed at the scarlet haired girl.
" There's even a book published about this! It's called { It All Started With An Apple} by Ashley Winters! Such a cute and heart pounding tale about a girl that found love by throwing a piece of fruit!" Lucy chimed and joined Levy in their little world.
Erza rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
" And why am I involved with this?" Erza said, irritated that they're still talking about a stupid magical apple.
" As a matter of fact, our Dear Titania," Mira purred, and that is not a good sign. For Erza, that is. " Since we all know that you've had an extremely nasty heartbreak. We thought it would be a great idea if you started dating again!"
Lucy clapped her hands and grinned, " Doesn't that sound like a great plan?"
The Titania looked unamused by this, " You have to be kidding me."
They shook their heads, much to Erza's displease. " Oh joy."
" Come on Erza! Cope with us!" Levy stood her ground. She wanted her friend happy and smiling again. A quiet and gloomy Erza is way more scarier then a bossy and angry one.
" Just this once Erza! We promise we'll never bother you again today!" Lucy begged her. She was desperate, that was clear. Lucy loved all of her friends, but Erza's always been the one there for her. She's her teammate, her friend, her family. And now she wants to be the one who's there for her.
Erza sighed, they were going at it for almost 3 hours now. And they all are so stubborn, so there's no way they're going to back down easily. Thus eventually, " Okay, fine. Give me the damn apple."
They lifted up their faces with glee! Levy gave her the apple and watched her with an excited smile. They watched with anticipation. Erza didn't looked pleased with this 'apple throwing' thing. Yet she doesn't want to hear another rant from them, so she did it.
She threw the apple in a direction with her eyes closed. " There I threw it," she said to them. Lucy and Levy squaled at her.
And not a minute later they heard: " Ow damn it! Hey! Who threw this fucking apple!"
And suddenly, the color of Erza's face faded. And her eyes widened in panick. The two others, however, are even happier. It looks like the apple had hit a certain person. Someone who was there for her all along.
The said person ran across the room, asking everyone who threw the damned apple at him. He finally came to a stop at Erza's table. Though she'd most likely deny it, she felt scared. The other girls by the way, had these smug smiles on their faces. It creeped Gray out.
" Err, hey girls. So, you guys know who chucked this apple at me?" he asked them as he waved around with the apple in one of his hand. They shook their heads at him, " Noo~ We don't, maybe you should ask her." As they pointed at the scarlet girl.
She flinched, even though they didn't say her name. She knew that they were referring to her and that made her flinch. She hoped that no one saw this though.
Gray lifted the tip of his eyebrow, " Okay?"
He then turned to her, " Hey Erza, do you know who chucked this apple at me?" After a long silence, she finally looked up at him and met his eyes. Quickly after that one second, she averted her eyes.
She blew her cover.
With that Gray finally had the answer to his questions. He smirked a little, " It was you, wasn't it?" Erza's eyes widened and she rapidly looked up at him: " No! That was certainly not me! I would never throw an apple at someone!"
But that didn't faze him anymore. He was still wearing that smirk on his face and it was growing larger, each time Erza denies it. " Just admit it Erza, it was you."
She bit her lip and growled, " Fine, it was me. Happy now?" she said as she folded her arms. Glaring at her friends across from her. They giggled as they stood up from their place, " So anyway, Erza. We gotta go run some errands! Talk to you later! Bye!"
" And I still have to serve other members, later Erza," Mira winked.
And with that, they ran off. Leaving poor Erza alone with the victim.
Gray then sat beside her, his smirk never seemed to leave his face. " So tell me, why did you throw that apple?" he said while staring at Erza, amused that she was hesitating. For once.
She glared at him but then she caught his eyes looking right back at her. That made her look away and let out a sigh. " Lucy and Levy wanted me to throw an apple across the room."
There was a short pause, until she heard a laugh come out of his mouth. She looked up at him, Gray was laughing! When his laughter died down a little, he said with an amused smile: " And you actually listened?"
Erza mentally took a note: 'Reminder; kill Lucy and Levy'. Just this one time that she actually did something that stupid. It had to end up with the apple actually hitting someone! And that said someone is Gray!
He opened his mouth to say something but-
" Gray-sama!" a shriek sounded from the front door. Gray hung his head low and sighed. He looked up at Erza and gave her a crooked smile. " Sorry Erza, I've got to go. Juvia's calling me, see you later."
As he walked away, he turned back at her and waved. She waved back with a small smile. After he finally was out of sight, Erza hit her head on the table and mumbled unspeakable words. But the only thing that was on her mind is: ' I hope this apple does not work.'
❤ The apple ❤ That ❤ Started ❤ This ❤ Al
Later that day.
Erza lied on her bed, calmly reading a book. She was currently on the climax of the story and right as she was about to turn the page!- The phone rung! She groaned at the annoying ringing sound and put her book aside.
Taking the phone in her hand, she pressed the green button and held the phone against her ear. " Hello?"
" Erza?"
She paused. Her heart almost dropped after she heard his voice.
" Gray?" she almost whispered. Why is he calling her? And how did he even get her number? No ones knows it expect Master Makarov and Mirajane. And she doubted that either one of them gave Gray her number.
" The one and only. So, what's up?" he chirped on the other side of the phone. Erza was displeased and utterly confused. " Don't what's up me! How did you even get my number?"
There was pause and then a cough. " Wel, it's not like I stole someone's phone and looked up for your number." He nervously laughed. But she was dumbfounded, did she hear that clearly? Did the Gray Fulbuster actually took someone's phone (most likely Mira's) to get her number?
" Did you seriously steal Mira's phone to get my number?" was the only thing she could think about and was the thing she also said to him. " Yes?" she heard from the other line.
" And why is that? We talk to each other everyday Gray, we see each other daily, so why get my number?" Erza said. It's not like she didn't want to talk to him, it's just that they see each other daily. She didn't see the point of them calling each other in the middle of the tonight, to be useful.
" I don't know. I just felt like it."
She raised her eyebrow at his statement. " You felt like stealing someone's phone to get my number? You could've asked me you know."
" Yes, but what's the fun in that? Didn't I surprise you? I did, didn't I?" though she couldn't see him, she knew he was smirking. She rolled her eyes, " Wipe that stupid smirk off of your face, Gray. And to answer you stupid question, yes. Yes, you did indeed surprise me."
" There! That wasn't so hard to admit, right?" he said, his tone cleary amused by her annoyance. " You stupid asshole."
" Oh, now insulting me?" He mused, " Oh mighty Titania, please forgive me."
That sentence made her smile, just a little. But nevertheless she did smile. " I bet your smiling right, now." Gray's voice came through.
" In your dreams Gray," Erza snickered as she rolled her eyes. Her eyes then rested on her alarm clock. The time's now midnight. Wait, midnight? Last time she checked it was 9..
" Wel, Gray. I'd love to continue talking to you, but I'm tired-"
" Aww come one!" he interrupted. " Can't we talk a tiny bit longer?"
Erza shook her head while laughing, " Sorry Gray. I'm tired, I'll see you tomorrow?"
" You bet."
With that, they ended their phone call. And surprisingly, Erza's actually looking forward to tomorrow.
❤ The apple ❤ That ❤ Started ❤ This ❤ Al
And just like Erza had predicted. Gray sat with her at their usual table, but the thing is..
Natsu and Lucy weren't there and so was Wendy. Apparently the three of them went on a mission. Without them! Can you believe it? Wel, it's not like they don't mind. They're perfectly fine enjoying each other's presence.
Much to Juvia's disappointment. The poor water mage as been crying waterfalls ever since Gray passed by her and sat with Erza. Though she did appreciate that he still noticed her and smiled at her.
She watched with jealousy and envy as she watched their table. The two of them were laughing happiliy, ignoring that they were in a room full of other people. But to them, it seems that they're in their own little world.
Erza glared at girl, who sat there like he didn't do any harm in the world. When he caught Erza looking, he grinned at her. That took her back, surprised. " Is something wrong, Erza?"
" Actually, yes," she says, not taking her eyes off of him.
His grin turned into a smirk, " What is it then?"
" You. Why are you still here? I thought I made it clear to you that we see each other every single day. And that we also talk daily," she said. Unaffected that Gray suddenly had inched closer to her.
" Trying to get rid of me, eh?" he said smugly and leaned even closer. She rolled her eyes as she also leaned closer to him. Their faces just an inch apart, " If I wanted to get rid of you, you'd be long gone and buried 10 feet under the ground."
" Is that a threat, Miss Scarlet?" he smirked.
" Please, I'm just stating what I'd be doing if I wanted you gone," she scoffed. There was a pause but they were still staring in each other's eyes. And that's when she realized just how close they were! Erza jumped back with a flustered face, Gray chuckled.
" Hey, you wanna hear a joke?" Gray suddenly said. She looked up at him, confused. " A joke seriously?"
" Wel, I don't want things to get quiet and awkward. So, how about it? Wanna hear it?" He shrugged at her.
Wel, hearing a joke wouldn't be that bad, right?
" Sure, why not?" and Gray grinned.
❤ The apple ❤ That ❤ Started ❤ This ❤ Al
" So what did the cake say to the fork?" Erza says with an amused smile on her lips. She has been hearing these incredible stupid jokes from Gray and couldn't keep on a straight face. This was just to good.
Gray grinned, " You want a piece of me?" And wiggled his eyebrow suggestively. The scarlet haired girl couldn't help it and laughed out loud. Making the other Guild members turn to their table. They seldom heard the Queen of Fairies laugh!
The ice mage laughed aswell. He was having so much fun making Erza laugh! " Hahha! W-wait, I have another one!" he said as he tried to stop laughing. She tried stopping her laughter but she couldn't wipe of that bright smile. She braced herself for the next one.
" Knock knock!" he exclaimed. She chuckled and raised an eyebrow, " Knock knock? Seriously?"
" Just play along will you! Knock knock!" he said and tried his attempt to joke again. She rolled her eyes but played along, " Who's there?"
" Dumbbell."
" Dumbbell who?" she said while suppressing her laugh. He grinned at her and immediately she knew that it's going to be a stupid one.
" Dumbebell doesn't work so I had to knock!" he exclaimed and laughed. Erza started laughing too! " Gray your jokes are so incredibly stupid! It's hilarious!" she says between her laughter and giggles.
" Wel I'm glad that I got you laughing like that," he says. He watched as Erza was stil laughing and a few minutes she calmed down. When she lifted up her gaze her eyes met Gray's. He was staring at her with a gentle smile.
Why did her face become warming just by looking at him?
" W-what? Is something on my face?" she said, a little bit emberassed that he was still staring at her. He shook his head, " No, I was just thinking how beautiful you look when you smile." And then he smiled showing his perfectly white teeth.
Erza felt her face heating up again. " Don't get shy! I'm just stating a fact and truth."
A few tables further from them is Juvia. Biting on her napkin while tears streamed down her face, " Gray-sama…" She says with envy as she watched them from afar.
❤ The apple ❤ That ❤ Started ❤ This ❤ Al
For the next following days, Juvia has kept her distance from Gray and Team Natsu. Especially as his attention has been focusing on Erza, well, not that his attention was on her all the time. No, she's not jealous, surprisingly.
Because every now and then Gray would stop and talk to her. Just a small talk or what they've been doing lately. In the last few days she has talked more with Gray then the last few years! And to be honest, it feels weird. Maybe because he started noticing Erza as an actual woman , Gray had also noticed her.
Her lips tugged up and formed a small curve. And watched her fri-family from a small distance. Wendy noticed Juvia's stare and smiled and waved at her. The other's followed her gaze and when they saw Juvia, they all smiled and waved at her. Her eyes widened a little but was quickly replaced by a flustered smile. And she waved back at them, before she turned to talk to Gajeel and Levy again.
"-Definitly! You should read it!"
" What? No way, that's for girls!"
" Juvia thinks it's a great book."
Now at Team Natsu's table, the members were excitedly in their own world. Happy and Charla were talking about delicious fish to catch and eat! Natsu and Lucy were talking about what their next mission with the others could be. And Gray was entertaining Erza and Wendy with his stupid jokes.
" You know, I think I want a job cleaning mirrors," he said with an amused smile. The two lovely girls in front of him were smiling widely. " Why?" Wendy asked, trying to stop her laughter.
" I could really see myself doing it."
With that the three of them started laughing to their hearts content! Gray couldn't help but stare at them, he stared at Wendy. The little bundle of joy that joined Fairy Tail. Ever since she joined the Guild as been more lively and cheerful. And he should thank the special scarlet for that, he turned to Erza. This beautiful and strong woman was the reason Wendy joined.
He couldn't be thankful enough. But then his mind drifted of, remembering memories from when they were kids. He remembered how he kept challenging her to fight him. And every time he would lose to her and yet, no matter how many times he failed. He would stand up and fight again. That was until he saw her there, at the river. Crying, since that day, everything changed.
He chuckled as he remembered the incident not too long ago. The day when the Titania chucked an apple at his head! Even he doesn't know, but something in his mind clicked. When he found out that she was the one who threw it and how she looked at him. Denying each time he asked if she was the one. How he loved to be the one to tease her and didn't get hit!
"-Ray!"
" Gray!"
Erza then finally slapped him on his head. And that shook him awake! " Wha-wait, what happened?" the girls giggled at his answer. " You were staring of into space!" Wendy said and giggled.
" What were you thinking of?" Erza said, a smiled tugged on her lips. Ever sicne that apple throwing incident, she has been closer to Gray. Closer than ever before. And the thing is, she wouldn't want it to change and would love to keep it this way.
He stared at her for the longest time, " Gray?"
" You."
His answer took Erza by surprise! And so was Wendy, only she squeaked and glanced at them with a hopeful look. A few seconds later his mind was finally working again. And he finally realized what he had said, because their faces portrayed it.
" I-I-I mean!- Err, Y-you b-because I w-was thinking about you-!"
" Kyaa!~" Wendy squeaked again and watched with anticipation. His eyes widened and Erza's face reddened!
" N-no! I mean!-"
" For the love of Mavis! Just ask her out already!" Charla called out to them. She and the others have been listening and looking at them this whole time. Even laughing along with his stupid joke.
The Exceed has spoken!
The three turned to look at the fuming Exceed. Baffled at what she had said. " Gray, please. These last few days you've been hanging out with Erza more then ever! And I see the way you look at her, it's different of how you look at Juvia or Lucy." She pointed out.
Erza turned to him with a raised eyebrow but a smile forming. Different, meant good right?
" What are you waiting for, Gray? Do it!" Lucy cheered. Very happy that her and Levy's plan really worked out! Oh she couldn't wait to hear the details from Erza later on.
He gulped, he glanced at his friends. Who were sitting there wide smiles and thumbs up, clearly encouraging him to do it. Then he turned around, to look at the most beautiful girl in the world. His breath stopped for a moment.
Erza was looking at him, actually staring at him with full attention. A beautiful smile on her lips, he gulped once more. " S-so, E-Erza…" He started. Making the girls groan with annoyance while Happy and Natsu surpressed their laughter.
She ignored her friends and watched him, she couldn't shake of that wide smile. " Yes, Gray?"
" W-would you like to h-hang out with me? Tomorrow… or something," he looked completely flustered and adorable right now! She giggled and nodded right away, " Of course."
His eyes widened, " Seriously? You will?" A smile made its way on his face, growing larger each time. Her smile also getting wider by the second, " Yeah!"
And then finally-
" Whooooohoooo!"
" Ooooohhh yeahahhh!"
" Yaaaayyy!"
Whistles and cheers started at their table! Making the other members curious to what's happening. They wanted to ask them what's happening but-
" GRAY FINALLY ASKED ERZA OUT!" Natsu's incredible loud voice boomed through the whole building! Making everything silent, before Elfman yelled out: " You've become a man, Gray!"
And the rest followed suit! The whole Guild became in a cheerful mood! Everyone started dancing and singing and congratulating the soon to be couple. And under all of the ruckus the two of them hid their faces. Their fr-family are so emberassing.
Slowly they looked up and stared into each other's eyes. They smiled, Gray's eyes glanced at the door. She followed and immediately, she knew what he wanted to do. She nodded at him and stood up, he followed too.
They ran to the door, trying not to bump into the others who were happily dancing and singing.
❤ The apple ❤ That ❤ Started ❤ This ❤ Al
The couple walked around Magnolia, talking about all sort of things. And stopping every now and then to appreciate the buildings and the kind people. Then finally, they stopped at the River.
Erza breathed in the air and sighed with a smile, " This brings back memories, doesn't it?" she said and turned to Gray, who was smiling widely at her. He nodded, " Definitly."
She ran down and sat nearby the river, Gray followed after he chuckled and sat next to her. He was content; the sun was downing and here they were, staring at the river as the sun slowly sets behind the horizon.
A thought suddenly popped into Gray's mind. He glanced at Erza, who's admiring the view in front of her. " Hey Erza," he called her.
She turned around and Gray saw pink sparkles all around her. You know, like on those anime's where the main girl/love interest slowly turns around. Yeah, like that.
His heart dropped at the sight of her! But he quickly recovered, although he was still blushing. " You know, you never told me why you threw that apple…"
This time, Erza's heart skipped a beat! She has almost forgotten that that happened and to be honest, she didn't tell Gray the actual reason. Should she? It might be for the best, let's hope he won't get angry, alright?
" Err- Well, Mira, Lucy and Levy-"
When she said their names, Gray knew that they said something that is related to her love life. After all, Mira is involved and everyone knows she's the biggest match maker in whole Magnolia.
" They wanted me to throw an apple across the room. Because, apparently, the person that the apple hits is going to be your future love," Erza laughed and shook her head. " Crazy, right?"
Gray shrugged, " Mmh, I don't know.."
She looked confused, " What do you mean?"
He turned to her and give her a wide grin, " I think it worked."
Whoaaaahahaha! I HAVE FINALLY AWOKEN FROM MY SLUMBER!
Okay no, seriously though... I've been so lazy and had like, what? ZERO inspiration and motivation. I hope I'll get better after my one month in the Philippines! So, I'll be you seeing guys next month. Maybe late at the end of July.
Anyway, review, follow and favourite, maybe? :3