Vexing Chapter 4: Hear Me Sound the Alarming Bells, a fairy tail fanfic

It's a miracle folks, I actually updated at a reasonable time.

But let's not get our hopes up for next time haha. This chapter is actually longer than I expected it to be, like +1,000 words more. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for reading, and the faves and the follows and the reviews. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

**Made some slight changes, just moved the scene from the bottom to the top. Gonna give peeps a heads up. It's not a flashback it's a dream. Fixed it cause now I think it's more apparent**

Review Responses:

AsDarknessSpreads: I already responded to you lol so I'm skipping you ;)

Guest1 (that is what you'll be known as until you provide me a name haha): I'm glad you'd like it. As to what happened to Gray... Um he was being stupid and he got hurt :D hehe what do you think happened?

Miya Mitsuki : it actually makes me really happy that you like this version better because I know I do, although I wasn't sure how people were gonna react XD and you reviewed like really a few hours ago so I hope this was a quick enough update for you I don't think I should leave you hanging more than I already have haha.

Great! Now let's get on with the story. Enjoy!

Vexing

Chapter Four

Hear Me Sound the Alarming Bells

I have to find him.

I have to apologize, to do something. Or risk losing the almost friendship we have.

No, I can't have that. Anything but.

I rush toward our dorm suite before slamming the door open, not caring about how loudly it smacks against the wall, the sound reverberating even the down the dorm hallways. It's not like there's anyone around.

Just me and–

"Gray!"

Sure enough, I am greeted by silence. But I know he's somewhere in here, I won't let that stop me. I briskly walk through the main room, quickly skimming all four corners. Not here, like I had expected, he's probably inside his room.

"What are you doing here Natsu?"

I trip at the sudden sound of his voice but a wave of relief washes over me. There he is, standing right in front of me and I do my best to ignore his angry expression and tense posture.

I take a couple steps forward and I start. "Gray, I–

"Why are you here, Natsu? Why did you follow me back?"

Why, he asks? Why else? I came back to…

"I wanted to say sorry." My reply comes out weak. There is so much more I want to say yet why does my throat feel like it's being wrung tight? It hurts to even breathe, let alone speak. But I need to get something out.

"Sorry?" Gray bites back. "You followed me all the way back here to tell me you're fucking sorry?" His face pulls into a snarl, and I've never seen his eyes so full of emotion. But they are alight with wild fury. "You've got to be kidding me."

When I make an attempt to step closer, his cold glare stops me dead in my tracks.

"Gray, I didn't mean to–" I try to say again but his glare only becomes that much more piercing, so much that I can feel the temperature around him dropping.

"Shove it, you asshole!" He pulls back as if he's trying to stop himself from completely losing it and going at me again. "Leave me alone!" He turns away then, rushing into his room.

For a second I almost regret in coming back here. I hate myself f or thinking that because there's no way I'll back down now and so I follow him in.

He doesn't bother trying to lock me out and the door slides open easy. I already see a couple of cardboard boxes set out for him and he has his drawers filled with clothes pulled out of the dresser.

"Gray can you listen to me for a second?"

His back is facing me but I watch as he draws his shoulders higher in suppressed anger, slowly letting out unsteady breaths. He turns to me and there's something about his expression, something twisted and how his eyes are so damn unforgiving.

This is bad.

"Tell me something Natsu," Gray spats nastily. "Did you do this to spite me?"

"No, of course I didn't."

"So this is some kind of sick joke to you?"

"It isn't!" I yell, frantic. This is really bad, he's not listening to me. What can I do to make him understand?

"Then why do always have to start shit with me, huh!?" He shouts right back, making me flinch.

He laughs when I fail to answer, it's a hollow broken sound, and he shakes his head in disbelief. "I never did anything, to you or anyone. Always stayed out of everyone's way. Never tried to be a bother."

I bite my bottom lip. Hard. I can taste iron and I'm falling ill.

"But you…" he starts and it's a sharp hiss. And when he casts his mirthless gaze directly at me, I'm left breathless—gasping and disoriented.

"Always starting problems with me. But I…"

"Gray, I wasn't–"

"BUT I'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO YOU!" he bellows over me and it's so loud and so sudden, that I'm left completely unguarded. I don't even notice how he's actually pinning me against the door, fists curled tight in my uniform.

"So why...?"

My heart is beating heavily against my rib cage and I wonder if Gray can feel it when he digs his fists harder into my chest. His face is close to mine—deep set frown, furrowed eyebrows and I hate the fact that I'm seeing his eyes water, even if the tears don't spill.

He doesn't cry, he doesn't sob.

Just glossy bloodshot eyes and I find that worse.

He lets out a frustrated cry before gritting his teeth, making his neck taut, and I watch as his veins pump adrenaline and animosity through them. But then he pushes away, and all that energy he had; all that stress, rage, and bitterness drops morbidly dead between us.

"Just forget it." He says, voice tired and defeated, eyes equally matching how he sounds. I hear the quiet thud as the small of his back hits the foot of his bed before he slides down against it. Until he's resting on the ground.

"Gray…" I know this is the end for us. I can tell with the way he grows cold and distant, much like how he was in the beginning of the school year.

I can tell with way he speaks listlessly.

"Just go away Natsu."

And the way his eyes silently speak so much more, both hard and desolate.

"I need to pack."

I nod silently even though he's not looking at me before I turn my back on him and walk out of his room. What have I done? Things will never be the same. Dammit. I screwed up big time.

And as I close the door to our dorm suite behind me, I can hear the small click of the lock mocking me behind my back.

Some fucking friend you were supposed to be. You're terrible.

It's true. Maybe that's why it hurts so much.

ALARM!

My head thuds and feels like mush as my cell phone alarm rings, forcing me into consciousness. I can tell it's my phone because it's playing the main theme from my favorite show, Dragon Slayers. The sound itself is low, or maybe kind of muffled, but my brain is still wavering on the brink of half-sleep to figure out exactly which it is.

It takes a third repeat of the song for me to realize that I left my phone in the kitchen, still connected to the charger (that Gray and I share because I lost mine) after arriving home from last night.

Right. Last night. Wasn't that actually a few hours ago? Sure feels like it and damn am I tired. I even stay curled up in my bed until the Dragon Slayers theme finishes its fourth round.

Fuck me. Why did I leave the alarm on?

I groan as I begin to fully wake up. I can never catch a break, can I? Apparently not as I blearily open my eyes, catching the first rays of light through the window. Grumbling, I sit up and stretch out my arms over my head, enjoying the feeling of my joints popping. It's obviously morning and it's even more obvious that I got no sleep whatsoever. I don't even need to look in a mirror to know that I have dark bags under my eyes.

They already feel so heavy.

I stumble my way into the kitchen, where the source of my alarm continues to harass the nice and quiet peacefulness that came with early mornings.

Wait, what time is it now anyway?

I glance down at the phone now in my hands and immediately glower when I read the time.

7:08 AM.

[ZZZ] [DISMISS].

7:08. Meaning seven o'clock in the morning. Meaning I only slept for three fucking hours! Dammit it all. That's a premonition right there. Today is gonna be unbearable.

Luckily I suppress my urge to chuck my cell at the wall and instead habitually swipe over the snooze option. Too lazy to walk back to my room I trip my over to the couch and flop on it. I get comfortable and snuggle into one the leather seats, hugging one of the throw cushions sleepily as I allow myself a few more minutes of shut eye.

And then ten minutes pass.

ALARM!

7:18 AM.

[ZZZ] [DISMISS].

Fuck no. Snooze!

I am in no way prepared to start my day. In fact I don't think I'll be ready until about noon.

This time around it doesn't even feel like ten minutes.

ALARM!

7:28 AM.

[ZZZ] [DISMISS].

Okay fine I'll get up—aw shit nevermind, I dropped my phone.

I reach my arm down while I blindly try to search for my phone but instead I manage to knock into it and I think it slid under the couch.

Maybe I'll just let the Dragon Slayers theme play for a little bit more.

"TURN THAT FUCKING SHIT OFF!" I hear Gray yell from the other side of the apartment. Okay maybe not.

I try to get up but fail. So I try to roll over and succeed, thus falling onto the floor. I curse and rub the side of my head but I'm thankful I did not hit the coffee table next to me. I see my phone under the couch and glare at the small device just chiming away without a care in the world.

"NASTU!" My goodness, Gray is such a spoiled princess.

"Calm your tits Gray!" I shout back, finally grabbing my phone and swiping over the damned [DISMISS] option.

I turn over onto my back and lay on the floor in our living room. I close my eyes and I can't help but briefly wonder how Gray could even possibly be awake, since he's typically a heavy sleeper who usually sleeps in whenever he can.

Who cares about Gray though? The big question is why in hell am I awake? Granted, I usually am up early due to work and I'm naturally a morning person but last nights' events definitely took its toll on my poor sweet bod. And even after that whole shit fest happened, when we finally reached home I still couldn't sleep. I remember half-carrying, half-dragging Gray to his room, dumping him on his bed—I swear he purposefully made it harder for me—before heading to my room and finally resting on my own bed. I just laid there though. I couldn't sleep. Even though my body was begging for it. It was just so hard when my mind was reeling over and over with the events that had happened. Then I kept recalling the times we spent as kids and how over time we grew further and further apart as the years went by.

There were so many things I didn't really want to think about and it was about four in the morning when sleep finally claimed me. But not even in my sleep could I escape from my past. Not after that dream I had just now.

Or I mean that memory. I sigh, I used to be a brat in high school, and was obnoxious—people still say that about me, I get it—and I did some pretty stupid things... But why did I have to dream of that of all things? It feels like it happened so long ago and I know I'm the one to blame. I wish I could simply forget it and forgive myself. Not that I believe I'll be able to. I have a nasty habit of keeping reminders.

Like when my dad suddenly left me when I was fifteen, I kept his scarf.

And like in this case, when I use to do stupid shit in high school; Gray himself happens to be my reminder. For a lot of them actually.

I let out a deep exhale and open my eyes, glad that the curtains are drawn closed so there's only a little bit of light filtering through. I move to sit up before standing and I moan pitifully when my muscles ache.

Guess I'll go check up on Gray. Hopefully his bandages held through and I won't have to call the emergency services.

I really don't want to find him half-dead with his blood staining the sheets...

Why do I keep thinking such things? Am I twisted? Agh whatever, he's probably fine. After all he sounded so lively when he was shouting at me five minutes ago.

I make my way over to his room, I don't think I ever been inside since I moved in with him. He probably won't appreciate me barging in but I can't help but feel curious as well.

I grab the knob and turn. Here goes nothing.

The moment I open the door I can't see squat because it's so dark in here. Literally pitch black as if it were nighttime, since his curtains are so thick they block out any semblance of light from shining in.

Gray must be so unused to the light or the morning in general because he actually whimpers when some of the light from the living room flashes on him.

"Gray?" I call out softly, making sure not to startle this hibernating-inspired creature.

"Go away." Gray grumbles immediately and I watch as he covers himself completely with his blanket and how he only leaves the top half of his face peeking. He smothers his face more into his pillow, as if he is trying to block out whatever other sounds might come.

Tch, I roll my eyes. As if that is necessary. I give him a once over and assess my options before sending a quick prayer that Gray won't throw anything sharp or heavy at me because what I'm about to do is close to insanity.

I flick the lights on.

Gray hisses and thrashes about some before rolling over to the other side of the bed as if that is going to help him. I click my tongue before making my way to check on his bandages. But something catches my eyes and I stop, gaping at what I see.

And then I swear.

Deafeningly loud.

"Son of a bitch! Wake up Gray!"

"Nooo."

"Gray I said get up NOW!"

"Wha…?"

I rush over to his side and throw the rest of the blanket off him. My hands shake when I see red staining his light grey sheets. It isn't too much but is he really gonna be okay after losing even more blood? He looks at me confused and dazed. He's even paler than last night.

Calm down Natsu. It's okay. He isn't dead.

Yet .

"Geez Natsu, what crawled up your butt this morn—oh shit."

He seems to finally realize why I'm suddenly freaking out and yet he doesn't seem worried whatsoever. Instead he rolls his neck around a few times, before scratching his head and letting out a yawn.

"Damn, I hope that's not gonna stain." Gray mutters as he glances back down at his sheets.

I on the other hand am still in freak-out!mode. "Gray be a little more serious about this! We should call–"

"Chill out man." Gray says as he stands up and pushes me back slightly with his fingertips. "It's not that bad. We'll wash the sheets and replace the bandages, 'kay?"

"But–"

"Right so I'm going to take a shower." He ignores my protests once more and heads towards his bathroom. When he passes by me he pauses briefly, his nose curling up.

"You should take a shower too."

With that he struts his way into the bathroom and the door promptly shuts.

I stand there unmoving and flabbergasted by Gray's lack of self-preservation. He's even more reckless than I thought. And it isn't until I hear the hiss of the shower running that I decide to leave him be.

Still in shock, I leave his room and head towards the bathroom I use.

I suppose I'll shower too.

Fifteen minutes later and I'm already out dressed in white jeans, paired with a black hoodie (the mornings are still chilly), ruffling through the kitchen to find something to make breakfast out of.

But we have nothing.

No eggs, no bread, no cheese, some expired milk, a couple of rotten bananas. And no instant make meals. We're so screwed. Gray is probably gonna bitch at me because it technically was my turn to buy groceries and I totally forgot.

Whoops.

Oh but we at least have some peanut butter and there's a packet of crackers that haven't gone stale yet. Too bad we don't have jelly, I could've made mini pb&j's or something. Damn.

Crackers and peanut butter it is then.

"Yo." Gray greets as he steps into the kitchen. He decided to bum it for the the day wearing black joggers with a dark heather gray long sleeve top. He even has a beanie to match. I bet it's to better cover the cut on his forehead. But I can still see the edge of a bandage. At least he's sensible enough to redress the wounds.

"So what's for breakfast?" I hear Gray ask.

"Nothing." I reply and I can already tell Gray is going to complain about my answer so I elaborate, "there's no food, we need to go grocery shopping."

"But I'm hungry," Gray still complains. I can never win with this guy.

"Fine. We got crackers and peanut butter. Enjoy."

He shrugs and grabs himself a plate and a knife before settling on one of the stools by the counter while I find unopened water bottles in the bottom of the pantry. They're warm but it'll do. And I slide one over to Gray as I take a seat next to him. We're both quiet as we munch on the only edible food in our apartment.

I sneak a glance at Gray. I know I've been doing a lot of that since last night, constantly wanting to check up on him, and I know that he's probably been noticing it too except I can't help it for some reason. However, is it really weird for me to feel and act this way? Part of me doesn't think so. Even if we aren't as close as we used to be as kids, it's not like we're total strangers, hell we're roommates now (although that is surprising in itself).

And it's not like I'm some heartless bastard who doesn't care. We may not get along and we may argue, fight, and disagree on just about everything. But I don't hate him. I never have. If anything it's him who has an issue with me.

Dammit, why am I thinking about this now all of a sudden…

"Stop it."

I literally jump from being startled. "H-huh?"

"You're pouting." Gray explains tiredly.

I set my lips in a thin line. "I'm not pouting." I say indignantly.

Gray huffs about something—he's always huffing about something—as he prepares more peanut butter cracker sandwiches and takes big gulps of his water.

"Whatever it is you're thinking about..." Gray starts, voice apathetic, "is probably not that important as you think it is." His eyes, droopy and half-lidded, do not stray from their gaze of the kitchen window in front of him but I can tell from of the corner of my eye the upturn of his lips that form into a smirk.

I sigh. If only he knew… Yet I can't help but agree at the same time too because I can't change what has happened. Right now, there is only this moment, with the two of us eating breakfast together without any hostility or where we're ignoring each other's existence. For once we're actually close (yes both figuratively and literally speaking, I'm quite aware with how his elbows knock into mine and how our thighs touch).

Well for better or worse, I have a feeling things are gonna change between us.

"Yeah we're definitely going to need to go grocery shopping. This sucks." Gray suddenly states and I chuckle.

"Agreed. But maybe we can get something to go when we go out and then we'll stop by the market."

Gray furrows his brows in confusion. "Um, where are we going?"

Is he stupid? "To a doctor of some kind? You know, to do something about those injuries you're sporting?" Really, what is this guy thinking?

Gray groans, "I said I'll be fine Natsu. Would you stop worrying–"

"No!" I interrupt and Gray looks shock by my outburst but I don't care. "How about you stop being so difficult." I say instead as I grab his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. "You're bleeding, you need stitches, and now you're coming with me to get those wounds checked out."

He refuses to look at me while he continues to grumble under his breath but when his shoulders sag I know I'll win this argument.

"Well if you really don't want to, I guess we don't have to go to the hospital." I smirk at the surprised and confused look Gray has. "Lucky for you, I happen to know of a clinic that can fix you on the down low and free of charge too!"

Gray looks skeptical, not that I blame him, if only he knew exactly where I intend on taking him…

"You're not going to take me to some underground doctor who'll probably knock me with anesthesia and then run off with one of my kidneys to sell on the black market, are ya?" He deadpans.

I laugh, "nah nothing like that." Somewhere much worse depending how you look at it, I think disdainfully while keeping the smile on face on the outside.

Gray purses his lips and eyes me with caution, I can't help but roll my own eyes. "Just trust me will ya?" I exasperate.

He still doesn't seem one hundred percent convinced but I know I'm gonna get him to agree.

"Okay if you say so…"

"Believe me, it'll be no trouble at all." Yeah right, I mentally snort. Not at the expense of that crazy old bat chewing me out later for disturbing her.

Soooo what did you guys think? Hoped you liked it C:

We got a snippet from Natsu and Gray's past at the beginning, hence the italics, and if you didn't realize it's the dream/memory Natsu mentions later. Remember even though they are roomies they were not exactly on the best of terms, and there is a reason they're even living together.