Chapter 3: What about her?
A couple of days later, Juvia had returned from her mission. We were hanging out in the guild.
"So, how did your mission go?"
Juvia sighed. "The mission was simple, but Juvia found it tiring."
"What happened?"
"While Gajeel had left Juvia to do who knows what, Lyon-san showed up. Apparently, Gajeel betrayed Juvia and told Lyon-san that "he still had a shot" with Juvia. Then, he wouldn't leave Juvia alone during the whole trip." She complained.
"Well, he does have taken a liking for you, you know." I commented, smiling.
"Juvia knows that, but… but…" Her cheeks reddened.
"Come on, I was teasing you." I reassured her.
"Gray is mean to Juvia. Juvia doesn't like being teased." She was now pouting. I couldn't help laughing. "Gray! Don't laugh at Juvia! It's not funny!" That just made me laugh harder.
Once I calmed down a bit, I told her, "That's crazy how fun you can be without even knowing it." I still had a smile on my face.
"Juvia is funny!" She assured me, looking really proud of herself. I couldn't take it anymore. She had such a serious expression while saying that. I was laughing again, nearly tearing up.
"Juvia thinks you're really crazy." I heard her tell me, but still didn't stop laughing.
xxxxxxxxxx
Me, Natsu and Happy entered the guild together and went to sit around a table.
"I'm so tiiired." I exclaimed while resting my head on the table.
"You should have slept more." Natsu replied matter-of-factly.
"Whose fault is it that I didn't sleep, again?" I complained.
"Hey, I didn't do anything!"
"Yeah right. You didn't invade my house in the middle of the night, making a monstrous ruckus. And then, you didn't steal my bed and didn't make me sleep on the floor. You're unbelievable! Don't come to my house anymore!"
"But your house is so comfy!" Natsu pouted.
"Right, and it smells good, too. It smells like fish." Happy added.
"It doesn't smell like fish! It smells good, good. Not fish!" I argued.
"But fish is good." He was now drooling.
"Fish doesn't smell good. Wait, why am I even having this argument with Happy?" I asked myself out loud. "Anyway, I'm serious; don't come to my house anymore."
Natsu and Happy made their best puppy eyes. Ugh, they were good at it. "Fine. You can come to my house." They instantly had a huge smile on their faces. "BUT only in a week. No party at Lucy's for a week. That's your punishment."
They were about to complain when they heard a loud laugh coming from the bar. We looked towards the origin of the sound. It was Gray.
"Oi, Ice Brain, stop being so loud!" Natsu screamed. And just like that, they were fighting. Happy was cheering for Natsu, the others were mostly sighing, and Juvia was trying to stop them; not really succeeding, though.
"They're so cute together." Mirajane remarked as she appeared next to me; I hadn't moved from my seat.
"Gray and Natsu? Wouldn't have used that word." I replied, dumbfounded. She had some weird ideas sometimes.
"Gray and Juvia." The Take-Over Mage clarified.
"Oh, right." I replied without much conviction, while watching the scene from my seat. I knew Mira was already making up a romance story between them in her head, and I didn't want to get involved in this.
"You won't try to stop them?" Mirajane asked her after a few seconds.
"It's useless. And I'm sleepy, so I don't want to waste my energy for nothing. Besides, Juvia is already trying, that should be enough."
"Ara, did I hear a hint of jealousy?" The model teased.
"What are you talking about? As if I would be jealous because of that. I'm actually thankful she's doing this for me, so I can rest a little."
"If you say so…" Mira said with a glint in her eyes before leaving me alone.
"What's with her tone? What was she implying?" I wondered out loud. But I decided to let it go and rest my head again on the table. Sometimes, it's better not to know what Mira is up to.
Me? Jealous of Juvia? Why would I be? While she's arguing with those two idiots, I'm resting. Why should I always be the one trying to stop them, anyway?
I looked up to see if the fight was over. It was. Obviously, Erza had popped up; Natsu and Gray were both on the floor. Happy helped Natsu up and Juvia helped Gray up. Gray smiled at her, thankful. Erza was in the middle lecturing the two mages. I decided to go greet her.
"Hey, Erza! How are you doing?"
"Lucy, good afternoon. I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking." Erza stopped her lecture to answer me. But she continued it right after, "Anyway, how many times do I have to say that to you?"
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault." Juvia suddenly apologized.
"How could it be your fault? These two idiots fight like they breathe." Erza reassured her.
"But if Gray hadn't laughed because of Juvia, then Natsu wouldn't have been angry, and…"
"Stop it. Don't apologize for this idiot. You did nothing wrong." Gray told her, gently patting her head.
Juvia smiled at him and nodded.
"Who's the idiot, huh?" Natsu shouted angrily, but calmed down as soon as Erza looked at him.
"Well, since everything's settled, let's all sit down around a table, ne?" I suggested.
The others agreed enthusiastically. Everyone was now laughing together. But I wasn't really listening to them.
"Hey, are you ok?" Gray – who was seating next to me – quietly asked me.
"Hm, I'm fine. A little tired, I guess." I replied. Gray nodded and let it go.
To tell the truth, even if I was tired, there was something else. I don't really know why, but I felt somewhat weird.
xxxxx
At the end of the day, I was on my way home. I was walking on the riverside with Plue.
I was thinking about what happened earlier. I felt kind of… annoyed? Yeah, something like this. But why?
So, I went to the guild with Natsu and Happy, Natsu fought with Gray, Erza stopped and lectured them, I greeted Erza, Erza continued lecturing Gray and Natsu, Juvia apologized, Gray patted her head…
I suddenly stopped as I felt weird again. "Is this what annoyed me?" I asked myself out loud. I then remembered what Mirajane had told me just a few minutes before that happened. "Did I hear a hint of jealousy?"
"Lucy-chan, that's dangerous!"
"Hai, hai!"
Was that it? Was I jealous of Juvia? But, why? I'm not in love with Gray or anything. He's just a very good friend to me, right? One of my best friends. Nothing less, nothing more. Plus, I know there's strictly nothing going on between them. A few months ago, I could have believed they'd eventually become a couple, but now I'd find it hard to believe. I think Gray finally cleared things up with her. So, why would I be annoyed to see him be that close with her?
It's true I once was the only girl whom he would pat the head. I liked that. Having some special treatment.
But he now doesn't do anything like that anymore. He basically avoids any physical contact with me. Not that I paid a lot of attention to this; it did take me weeks to realize that after all.
He doesn't pat my head anymore, he doesn't put his arm around me anymore, he doesn't even elbow me or anything like that anymore. I wonder why. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, like when I thought he was mad at our group (which came with that realization, too). He probably hasn't realized this himself.
I miss all of this. All those little moments of complicity with him. Without those, I can't feel we are best friends anymore. And we hang out less and less together, which definitely doesn't help.
That's it. I envy Juvia's friendship with Gray. Because I used to be in her shoes. I'm not annoyed because of her being close to him, I'm annoyed because of him being distant with me for the past few weeks.
"I'm acting like a spoiled kid, aren't I Plue?" I asked my Spirit.
"Pun, pun."
"You're totally right. Come on, let's go home."
xxxxx
I stopped before opening the door. I didn't really want to go home. I'd be alone in there. Natsu and Happy weren't allowed to come for a week, and Erza went on a mission after meeting with us. And Gray, he simply didn't show up anymore. Truthfully, my little apartment's way too calm without any of them.
I took a deep breath, and opened the door.
"Tadaima." I told no one, my eyes shut as I entered the room.
"Okaeri!" A voice replied enthusiastically.
I opened her eyes, surprised. The lights were already on, and a certain half-naked man was seating on my couch, grinning.
xxxxxxxxxx
"G-Gray? What are you doing here?" Lucy asked me, truly surprised.
"Since when do I need a reason to be here? I was just bored and thought 'Hey, let's go to Lucy's!'" Actually, she seemed off this afternoon, so I wanted to check on her.
She whispered something, but I only heard "seems like" "really busy" "few weeks".
"What did you say?" I asked her.
"Nothing, nothing." She answered hurriedly with a fake grin on her face.
"Nothing, my ass." I said to myself. I always know when she's lying, and right now, she was. Not that I'm boasting or anything, you don't have to be a genius to see she's lying. She's like the worst liar I've ever seen. Seriously, a sign saying "LIAR" on her forehead would be more subtle than her face and tone right now. But I decided to let it pass.
"I'm glad you're here." She suddenly said while grinning. Genuinely, this time.
My eyes widened, and I felt my face redden a little. I looked away, "I'm surprised. I thought you would throw me out, or at least yell at me."
"Truthfully, I felt a little lonely knowing nobody would come by tonight. Plus, it's been ages since you came, so I can't throw you out like that."
"So, you do like us hanging out here." I teased.
"Well, that doesn't mean you have to come every time and be a pain in the ass." She warned.
"Hey! Say that to Natsu and Erza. They always go through your stuff without asking."
"As if you didn't. Who's read my novel without asking again?"
"By the way, I know Erza's on a mission, but why Natsu and Happy aren't here?" I quickly changed the subject.
"They're not allowed to come for a week." She automatically answered. "Hey! Don't ignore my question!" She shouted angrily.
"And they actually listened? That's surprising."
"I give up." I heard her say to herself. I have to admit it's hilarious to tease her like this. "It's only the first day; I don't expect them to hold on the whole week. I actually said a week to have at least two or three days to myself." She proudly explained to me.
"Good thinking, I admit."
"I know, right? After that long I know how to deal with them you know."
"Well, that's because they're simple-minded. They're basically animals who live by their instincts. So it's not difficult to understand them."
"Yeah, unlike some Ice Mage I know…"
"I take this as a compliment."
"You're pretty pretentious. I could be talking about Lyon, not you."
"As if." I looked at her knowingly.
"You're right." She slightly bowed her head.
"You're pretty simple to understand too, you know." I smirked.
"HEY! Are you implying I'm simple-minded?"
"Not at all. You're just naturally honest and open about your feelings. That's why you can't hide them. Sometimes, I envy you for that."
Her expression changed as she quietly replied, "Gray…"
"Aaaah, I'm starting to feel sleepy." I stretched out. "But first, a bath." I rushed into her bathroom.
"Hey! Don't use someone else's bathroom like that!" I heard her shout behind the door. "Make it quick, I'm really tired and I have to take one too before going to bed."
"If you really want to gain some time, wanna join me?" I couldn't resist but tease her.
"NO THANKS!" I chuckled. Looks like it worked, she sounded really flustered. The only problem is that my joke worked on me too. Damned imagination.
After some time, I heard her say rather loudly, "Plue. You know, even though you're not the talkative type, it's good to express your feelings from time to time. Happiness, sadness, anger… Friends are here to listen to you. Open up a little, I'm sure they'd be happy if you did. I'd be happy if you did."
"Pun pun!" Her weird spirit replied.
"Goodnight, Plue."
I smiled. "Goodnight to you too, Lucy."
xxxxx
When I walked out of the bathroom, I found Lucy seating on the couch, but she was sleeping. I saw her shiver. I carried her to her bed and covered her. I was about to stand up when she suddenly spoke up, "Gray?"
"Yes?" Did I wake her up?
"You won't avoid me anymore, right?" She asked in a somewhat worried tone, her eyes still shut.
She noticed? I knew she noticed I hung out less with our group, but not with her specifically. "I wasn't–" I tried to explain, but she cut me off.
"Gray." Her eyes were now opened and looking at me.
I smiled tenderly, "I won't. I promise."
She nodded, and shut her eyes down again. I gently patted her head.
My heart skipped a beat when she put her hand on mine for a few seconds. She whispered something while smiling but I didn't catch on what. "Thanks." She then said with a smile. "Goodnight." She shut her eyes again and rolled a little to the right.
"Goodnight."
So, she noticed. And was bothered by it. Then it came to me. Was it because of this she'd looked down this afternoon? Probably not, I've been like this since almost two months, why would she feel down now? Anyway, her words made me feel happy and guilty at the same time. Happy because she thought of me, and guilty because I made her sad. So, like I promised her, I won't avoid her anymore. Plus, it seems I'm becoming better at managing my feelings around her, so it shouldn't be a problem anymore.
I'm glad I came tonight. I finally feel I can be normal around her again.
