Seven Days
Chapter 3- Sunday
Gray Fullbuster was not a calm sleeper.
It was not uncommon for him to fall asleep in a peaceful manner, with his head on a pillow and his body neatly tucked into several cozy blankets, only to wake and find himself with half his body hanging off of the bed and his pillow on the other side of the room.
There were even times when he'd be sure to sleep with his body in a straight line from head to toe. He'd tuck the blankets underneath him, as if he were a mummy, so that he couldn't get out of bed even if he wanted to.
But somehow, he'd still wake up on the floor.
This morning was no different.
He woke in the late morning, his face pressed into the dusty wooden floor, but his legs were still on the bed, tangled in blankets. He froze for a moment, and then slowly lifted his head a centimeter off the ground, only to topple off the bed in a rather painful and not very graceful motion.
He lay there for a moment, too lazy to physically pick himself up off the ground, and instead focused on his surroundings.
Judging from the blustering noises coming from the small kitchen, Natsu and Lucy were struggling to make breakfast. He could hear clanging pans and rambunctious voices, and the aroma of sizzling bacon and fluffy pancakes was drifting throughout the petite cabin. Light rain still dusted the cabin, but bright sunshine streamed through his open blinds, telling him that it was late in the morning.
Well, at least he had an excuse for sleeping in.
The day before, after Lucy had picked the two of them up, he had helped her unload the groceries from the car (Natsu was too busy lying on the ground moaning about motion sickness). When they were done, Gray told the two about Juvia's invitation to the other cabin, and the group eagerly headed over (Natsu seemed to recover pretty quickly after that). They had ended up staying at the cabin until the wee hours of the morning, telling stories and playing truth or dare and just having a great time.
And Gray had learned a whole new meaning of the word infatuated.
Gajeel, though he was pretty gruff at first sight, was still fun to hang around. Levy was simply a pure sweetheart, and she and Lucy were already practically sisters.
But something about Juvia stood out to him.
Something about her flexuous lapis hair, her gleaming navy blue eyes, her soft voice, her vibrant personality, her curvy- Whoa, Gray, calm down.
A frustrated, high-pitched voice jerked him out of his thoughts.
"Natsu! You're gonna burn the bacon, idiot!"
"Well, I don't know about ya'll, but I like my bacon crispy."
"Whatever... I'm gonna get some milk."
He heard light footsteps amongst the sound of the sizzling food, and then the fridge opening.
Silence.
And then, a high-pitched shriek.
"WHERE DID ALL THESE HOT WINGS COME FROM?"
Smiling to himself at Natsu's flustered excuses, Gray sat up on the floor. He grabbed last night's t-shirt and jeans, slipped them on, and then hobbled out of his room. Tuning his roommate's conversation out of his mind, he sank down on the dusty couch and glanced out the window.
And he couldn't take his eyes away, because she was there.
She treaded along the sandy shore, a content smile on her face, and Gajeel and Levy followed close behind, their fingers intertwined. She wore a bright green sundress that flowed down to about her knees and drifted behind her as she walked, and her wavy sapphire hair was tied into a loose ponytail.
"Gray!" Natsu's voice captured Gray's attention, and he turned his head to see Natsu stacking all of the fluffy pancakes onto one giant tray. Apparently the hot wings issue had been resolved, because behind him Lucy was quietly mixing some coffee.
"Can you go outside and let everyone know that we have food if they want some?"
Gray grunted in agreement, glad to have an excuse to go talk to her. He pushed himself up off the couch and stalked out the door. Juvia looked up when she heard the door slam, and waved eagerly at him, grinning. He jogged over to them.
"Hey, we have breakfast if you guys want some. Bacon and pancakes," he announced, slowing down beside the group. Gajeel whipped around to stare at Levy, his grip on her hand tightening, and she laughed.
"Sure, we'll go," she accepted, smiling sweetly at Gray. He nodded, and turned to Juvia.
"Actually, I'm not that hungry... I was just going to look for seashells, wanna come with me?" She asked, cocking her head ever so slightly.
The roaring appetite Gray had before immediately disappeared.
"Sure," he agreed, and she visibly brightened. He turned to say something to Levy, only to find that Gajeel was already dragging her to the cabin. Then he faced Juvia, and she excitedly started walking away to the jetty rocks.
"There's usually a lot of really cool ones in the sand over here. They get caught in the rocks," she explained, and he nodded, but didn't really listen. He was far too captivated by the way her cerulean hair swayed with each step she took, and the patterns on her thin green sundress as it rippled in the wind.
She slowed, taking a moment to glance at him over her shoulder, before crouching and running her fingers through the sand. He sank into the ground beside her, searching amongst the rocks.
"So, do you come here every summer?" He asked, pausing in his work.
She nodded. "Yea, ever since Gajeel and I were little. You?"
"No," he mumbled, "this is my first time."
"You like it?"
He nodded, and she smiled at him.
Has the world always been this vibrant?
"Woah, look at these really cool ones I found!" She exclaimed, holding her hand out to him. He leaned over to examine her discoveries.
In her palm were two gold-orange cockleshells that glimmered in the sunlight. With her free hand, she picked one of the shells and handed it to him.
"Here, you can have one. It's a souvenir, so that you never forget your first trip here," she offered, her smile more luminous than ever and her indigo eyes shimmering with warmth and maybe something more.
He took it from her, and simply smiled, because he knew that he would never forget her, even if he wanted to.
(Which he didn't.)