"Uh huh, right. Then how do you explain the constant staring and zoning out when she's around?" Natsu said, crossing his arms and leaned on the table. "You should ask her out." "I can't do that," Gray replied taking another sip of his drink to avoid saying anything more. 'They have no idea what happened in that cave, they don't know that's where I realized. I do like her but I can't possibly ask her out. She prob doesn't like me that way, and I bet that kiss was only a sign of thanks, nothing more.'
"C'mon Gray," Lucy chimed, "don't tell me you haven't asked a girl out before." Gray looked down.
"I haven't had a chance to ever ask someone out," he replied, about to take another sip but realized his cup was empty. Ok, come on, Lucy said, grabbing his wrist. What are y- You obviously need some practice, she cut him off, dragging him out of the guild.
2 hours later No, you re doing it wrong! Lucy snapped. Try again. Just like I showed you. Lucy was repeatedly dropping her handkerchief on the ground. I don t see what this has to do with asking a girl out, he grumbled bending over to retrieve the hankie, bumping his head against Lucy s boobs. WATCH IT! She exclaimed, slapping him across the face. You don t want to accidentally do that to Carina! It s not like HER boobs are as big as yours! Gray retorted, rubbing where she had slapped him. So you HAVE looked, she stated raising an eyebrow, causing Gray s face to completely flush.
Maybe... Pervert. Hey! It s not- He was cut off by Erza walking over. What s going on here? She asked, noticing Lucy s handkerchief on the ground. Hi Erza, I m trying to help Gray ask a girl out, Lucy explained. We re practicing in case she drops her napkin, but someone isn t getting it. This earned a glare from Gray. I see. Let me try, Erza replied. She picked up the hankie and dropped it again. Ok now what do you do? Gray took a step forward and bent down to pick up the hankie, stopping when he almost hit Erza s chest. He sighed when he just barely missed, knowing he d be dead if he had hit her there. He was about to grab the hankie when he felt Erza punch him; sending him flying across the back road that were on. What was that for?! He demanded, feeling his swelling lip. You hesitated, Erza replied, crossing her arms and looking at Lucy. Is he trying to ask out the new girl? Gray groaned. Does EVERYONE know?! He asked himself as he stood up.
The next day, Gray had a bruise on his left cheekbone from when Lucy had hit him and his bottom lip was swollen on one side due to Erza punching him. He sighed when he walked into the guild and met Natsu and the gang at their regular table. What happened? Wendy asked, noticing Gray s wounds .
Long story, he sighed, sitting down next to her. Can you touch me up a little? Wendy nodded and performed a small healing spell, making his face look as good as new. He gave a smile in thanks, not able to say much since Carina had just walked into the door. They watched as she took a seat at the bar to talk to Mira for a bit. "Now's your chance lover boy," Natsu laughed, punching him playfully in the arm. Just walk over and start a conversation to get things started, Lucy said giving him a thumbs up. "Aye!" Happy chimed, taking a seat next to Carla. Gray sighed, realizing he can't argue with them anymore or they'd shove him over there anyway. "Fine, but only a quick one," he said as he stood up and walked towards the counter. 'How bad can it be? I mean, it's just asking about a simple date, right?' He thought, taking a seat beside Carina. Well, here I go. "Marajane, can I get a beer?" He asked, his heart pounded in his chest as he glanced over at Carina. "H-hey, uh, what's up?" He saw Carina jump a little and drop her napkin. Really? He picked it up and handing it to her.
"Uh, nothing I guess," she replied, realizing he was handing her napkin back to her. Oh, thank you. Gray noticed she was blushing. "So, uh, have you found any good jobs on the board?" He asked, kicking himself for asking something so stupid. 'C'mon dummy, make better conversation than that!'
She shook her head. "N-no, there aren't any good solo missions," she said, as they made eye contact then quickly looked away. His eyes are a gorgeous blue! Ugh, get a hold of yourself and look back over,' Carina thought to herself blushing hard. They looked back at each other, both their faces beat red. "Uh, I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me sometime," Gray said, his heart was beating so loud he could have sworn the whole guild was listening to it. "Uh," she said, blushing harder.
Gray looked back at the counter as Mirajane gave him his drink. "It's fine if you don't want to, I can't see why you would." He stood up. "Wait," Carina said grabbing his wrist. Both their hearts skipped a beat when they touched. "I'd love to go out with you."
"Oh, uh, are you busy this afternoon?" Gray asked, putting his hand in his pocket as she let go. "No, I'm free."
"Alright, I'll pick you up at around 4?" Carina smiled and wrote down her address on a napkin and handing it to him. "See you at 4." Gray gave a swift nod before grabbing his drink and walking back. Yes! He cheered in his head, trying really hard to keep his cool. He noticed Carina walk out of the guild as soon as he sat down. Guess she has to go get ready. Not like she needs it. He smirked and sipped his beer.