After finding the dean's office again and asking for directions, Gray walks down the corridor of the fourth floor to the boys' dorms as he heads for the last door and labelled on the door is 'Laxus Dreyar'. Gray knock on the door three times before it opens and reveals a tall, blonde haired guy with a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt going over the right eye. With spiked-headphones hanging around his neck with music playing clearly from them, a video game playing on the screen in the man's room and a T-shirt that says, "Gamers Never Die, They Respawn!", Gray has a good idea why the blonde man has an annoyed expression directed at him.
"Gray Fullbuster? New guy?" Laxus asks gruffly and when Gray nods, he leans back and takes a set of keys hanging from the wall beside the door. "Room 77B. Need help finding it?" Gray shakes his head and catches the keys that Laxus has thrown to him. "Enjoy," Laxus comments and smirks, giving Gray the feeling that Laxus knows something that will make him feel completely opposite of that comment.
He walks back down the corridor in the direction of the stairs, and hears the sound of someone screaming, "Get out of my room!" Shaking his head, Gray hopes to not stay anywhere near that person because he doesn't want to stay up all night listening to a people shouting at each other. That was Gray's first task from his counselor: Get some sleep.
Stopping in front of the second door from the stairs on the left, Gray stands and studies the brass numbers attached to the door in the center. He looks down at the small, metallic key in his hand and takes a deep breath. This is the first step to independence, first step without people telling him what to do, when to do it or how to do it. This is his first step without them.
He pulls on his backpack's strap and takes a deep breath, calming himself down. He inserts the key into the doorknob and turns it slowly, feeling the click before opening the door. He looks around the room, taking in the sight. Whoever he is sharing the dorm with, Gray knows that he won't get along with him. To the left of him is the 'lounge', the shape of the couch is the only thing noticeable in the room. Articles of clothes and books are covering everything, the couch, the bookshelf, the desk and the coffee table. Gray is sure that the floor doesn't even exist since he can't see it. To Gray's right is the kitchen. The only thing that allows Gray to recognise it as the kitchen is because the fridge is left open and some yellow liquid is running down the contents of the fridge from a bottle lying on its side at the top of the fridge. The zinc is filled with filthy dishes piled high, which threatens to fall with the slightest gust of wind. Next to the zinc, the island separating the lounge and the kitchen is also packed full of discarded items. From the point where Gray is standing, he only hopes that the rest of the dorm (which now appears to be like a small apartment) does not look anything like the lounge and kitchen.
Tiptoeing over the discarded contents on the floor, not wanting to upset the potential disease-causing objects, he makes his way to the passage, which is a straight way from the doorway that he is standing in. He is relieved to see at least a little bit of the floor under his feet as the discarded objects seem to thin out. Looking up, Gray notices three doors in front of him: two bare of any decorations and one (the one on his right) looks like it is decorated with pictures pasted on by a toddler.
Guessing that the decorated door belongs to his 'buddy', Gray tries the door to his left. Opening the door, an awful smell enters his nose and he immediately shuts the door. Slumping his back against the bathroom door that he had just opened, he decides to himself that he is going to sock the guy that he is sharing the apartment with the first time he sees the guy.
Trying the last door (and hoping for the best), Gray is left speechless. The room is in mint condition, not a speck of dust could be seen. In the corner of the small room stands a small wardrobe and next to it is a single bed covered by a black blanket that matches the pillows. The walls are bare except for a single shelf to the right of the bed (which is directly opposite him) and next to the bed is a small side table with an alarm placed on top of it. Taking his backpack from his shoulders, he starts to take out his clothing, unwrapping them from each other. When he was young, Gray's mother had taught him how to pack clothing into each other, taking up space no bigger than a sock – underwear wrapped inside of a T-shirt, which is rolled and wrapped inside a sock. That is why the only things that is taking up space is his two pairs of pants, toiletries and his stationery, which consists of his art supplies and the usual things that he would need to study. He packed light because he didn't see the point in packing for two weeks when all that he needed was three of each thing; three shirts, three pairs of socks, three underwear, three pairs of pants. The only things that that aren't three are the shoes that he is wearing and his coat.
As he settles in, he hears shouts coming from outside his window, which is next to his shelf.
"What have I told you about doing that? What if you hurt yourself?"
Natsu scratches the back of his head and looks at Lucy in embarrassment. "Sorry, Luce, but it just takes so much time to go all the way downstairs, through the student lounge then all the way up the stairs again just to get to your room, where I can just jump from my window to yours in a matter of seconds," Natsu says while giving Lucy a huge grin, knowing that he won this argument.
Lucy narrows her eyes at him and fumes, "What if I was dressing? What if you miscalculated and missed my window? What if the window is closed and you don't see it, but you still jump? Have you ever thought of how I would react if any of those things happened?"
Natsu crosses his arms in displeasure and pouts. "But those things will never happen..." he trails off, mumbling to himself. Feeling really upset with the guy that had just jumped between two buildings four storeys off the ground and almost falling to his death, Lucy decides that some sense should be knocked into him.
After hearing a heavy thump coming from Lucy's room, Erza is curious to see what the blonde is up to. Erza gets up from the desk where she was studying and makes her way to Lucy's door. Knocking, Erza asks, "Everything alright in there? Lucy?"
Hearing hushing sounds coming from the other side of the door, Erza's temptation to open up and beat any intruder that thinks they can get past her seems to grow until Lucy answers back, "Everything is fine, Erza. I kind of just fell and I was telling myself how stupid I am to not see the edge of the bed." Erza hears Lucy trail off from her sentence with an awkward laugh, but she left the blonde alone, knowing that Lucy could be weird at times.
After a few moments of silence, Lucy hears Erza's footsteps retreat back to where the redhead was previously. "That was close," Natsu says and laughs, making the blonde glare at him. Giving another whack across the head for good measure, Lucy starts pushing Natsu to the window that he had jumped through a minute ago.
"Out!" she whisper-yells at Natsu, urging him to jump back to his room, which is just across from hers. "Quick, before Erza comes back and we both know that she will."
Obeying her wish, he climbs onto the window ledge but doesn't jump. "Wait, Luce. I came to let you know that you must get ready," he says quietly and turns to her.
She looks at him quizzically and asks, "Ready? Ready for what?"
He sends a big grin her way and answers, "I'm taking you out. There is a new coffee shop that opened up by the park. Dress warmly." Before Lucy could say anything, he leaps from her window and latches onto his and pulls himself up. Closing the window behind him, he gives her a big grin before walking off.
Rooted to her spot and eyes wide, all that Lucy can do is stare at Natsu's window as she processes what he has just said to her. He is taking her out. He is taking her out. He is taking her out!
Hearing a squeal come from Lucy's room, Erza make her way to Lucy's door once again and before she knocks, Lucy opens the door and gives Erza the brightest smile she could muster. Seeing Lucy almost burst with excitement, Erza steps back a bit and ask once she is at a safe distance, "What happened now that you are all... this?" Erza points at Lucy. Erza isn't sure how she should ask why her friend is happy because she has never seen Lucy this happy before.
Lucy's eyebrows furrow in confusion for a moment but then she starts talking so fast that Erza couldn't understand what she had said. Erza stands in front of Lucy with wide eyes. Lucy rolls her eyes and repeats what she has just said, but slower, "Natsu just asked me out on a date and I need you opinion on what I should wear, but keep in mind that he said that I should dress warmly even though we are just going out for coffee."
Erza blinks once before uttering, "Oh."
All excitement seems to seep away from Lucy as she takes in Erza's behavior. Erza doesn't seem to respond positively to what Lucy has said and Lucy feels very nervous now that she doesn't have Erza's enthusiasm. "What do you mean by 'Oh', Erza?" she asks, already afraid of the answer. Is she not good enough for Natsu? He does seem like a nice guy and Lucy would like to get to know him more, but if Erza disapproves then Lucy won't go with Natsu.
Erza shrugs after relaxing. "Just oh," Erza says and gives Lucy a small smile, faintly hearing the sound of crashing coming from outside Lucy's window. "I don't think that it's a date."
Lucy is taken aback. She was expecting Erza to flat out say that Lucy shouldn't go out with Natsu or that Erza wouldn't speak to her if she goes out with the guy, but not this. "How do you know?" Lucy asks hesitantly.
"You bastard! Are you a pig, because only pigs could live in this pigsty!" came a shout from the outside and right after that, more shouting takes place.
Erza focuses back on Lucy. Lucy looks as if she was told that her dog died. "He isn't the type to date," Erza says, trying to let Lucy off easily. "When he says coffee, he means just coffee. Nothing else."
Lucy looks down after staring at Erza in shock for a few seconds. "Right. What was I thinking?" she says and slowly goes back into her room, shutting the door behind her.
A few minutes later, Lucy is standing in the student lounge, staring solemnly at the trees in the distance. The winds seem to be a little strong, but that is expected for the beginning of autumn, Lucy notes. "Yo, Lucy! You ready?" Natsu asks from behind her and he sees her nod, but she doesn't turn to look at him. That's strange... He walks until he is next to her and looks out in the direction that she is looking in and he can't decide if she is looking at the glass in front of her or the trees in the distance. He looks back at her and asks, "What's wrong?"
She shakes her head and smiles softly at him. She reaches out, pulls the glass door open and steps out into the chilly wind, him following close behind. Not knowing what else to say, they walk to the coffee shop in a dreadful silence.