NOTE: I'm sorry for the oh-so-late update. I'm just getting settled in another city where I moved to for college (YAAY!). So here it is: an update! So sorry, minna! I hope I didn't take too long!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.
-CHAPTER SEVEN: THREE'S A CROWD-
" Slowly, Gray's face approached hers and their lips met, making Lucy's heart thump wildly in her chest and she felt like bursting."
"Lucy…"
"The girl opened her eyes but found herself staring at the pink ceiling, dizzy and her eyesight, blurry.
There were a lot of things she found odd that day. One, her pillow was of a different scent. Two, why was the sun not up yet, and three, since when did the ceiling become pink?
She closed her eyes, yet again, trying to find answers.
Oh, yeah… she thought, flushing. Last night, I was a real mess and an embarrassment to Gray…
"Lucy…" said the voice again.
Lucy opened her eyes and stared at the pink view again. Only this time, her eyesight improved and it wasn't the ceiling. She was staring at pink strands. Strands of what? Hair?
Lucy shot up and stared at the owner of the voice.
"N-Natsu…" she said weakly.
"Lucy, let's go home…" Natsu said, affection in his eyes.
Lucy went numb and couldn't move. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to you. I realized that no matter what happened, it's just you. I love you, Lucy Heartfilia. Not Lisanna, you!"
Natsu grabbed Lucy with both hands and hugged her. "Let's go back, Luce…" he whispered.
No… Lucy thought. This has to be a dream! Let me go, please!
Lucy's eyes started to water.
"Oi!"
Lucy turned to the door to see Gray in the same clothes he wore the night before, looking intensely at Natsu. Then, his gaze turned to Lucy and he offered a hand to her saying, "Come here, Luce."
Without hesitation, Lucy went to Gray and wailed.
"It's okay now, Luce. It's okay." Gray put Lucy's face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "Promise me you won't ever leave me."
"I promise." She didn't know why but Lucy said it.
Slowly, Gray's face approached hers and their lips met, making Lucy's heart thump wildly in her chest and she felt like bursting.
And then… she woke up, flushing.
"Wha-what the heck was that?" she asked herself.
She looked around her.
She was still in gray's room, on his bed, but no Natsu.
Lucy heaved a sigh of relief. Just a dream, she thought.
She glanced around even more to spot a sleeping Gray, one of his feet on the couch while the rest of his body laid motionless on the floor.
Lucy gave a slight chuckle at the sight and made her way to him. She plucked a leaf from the plant nearby and sat beside Gray, her arm resting on the wooden stool beside her. Slowly, she lowered herself, her face only a few inches from Gray's and planned to tickle his ears with the leaf but stopped.
Gray sure is handsome, Lucy thought. I'd bet he's had lots of girlfriends before.
Lucy continued to stare at him, when she remembered her dream. Gasping, Lucy let out a small shriek. Very small, but enough to wake up the sleeping ice mage.
"W-what?" Gray said.
Without thinking, Lucy grabbed hold of the stool and shoved it on Gray's face, forcing him back to sleep while Lucy made her escape back to her room, annoyed and blushing.
They were walking awkwardly together, Lucy's hand tightly balled to fist, while she stared at a really pissed, badly bruised, yet still hot Gray Fullbuster.
"Gray, I'm sowie…" Lucy said, putting up 'the look'.
After one glance, Gray looked away, coughed then nodded his head slowly. "Whatever."
"You don't mean it, do you?" Lucy said, pouting.
"I do." Gray said hardly.
"No, you don't.", said Lucy "If you did, you'd be able to look at me."
"Yeah, well, tough luck." Gray snapped.
After Lucy had slammed the stool down Gray's face and bruised it, the ice mage didn't talk to Lucy, only on rare occasions such as that, and when he asked Lucy where she wanted to go. Also, he wouldn't look at her for a straight five seconds, and if he did, he would look away sharply and stay quiet after, like what he was doing then.
"So where do you want to go now?" Gray asked her, still not looking.
"I would only tell you if you accept my apology." Lucy snapped.
"But I did accept your apology."
"I'm sowie, Gray…" Lucy repeated.
"Okay, so now, you're just not making any sense."
"I'm sowie…" Lucy repeated, moving to Gray's other side so that he would see her, whether he liked it or not.
"Okay, okay~!" Gray said, pulling both of Lucy's cheeks as he did. "I accept your apology…"
Lucy grinned widely, caressing her stinging cheeks. "Yaay~!"
"So, where do you want to go?"
"Yesterday, I think we passed by an amusement park…" Lucy gleamed. "I want to go there if it's okay with you."
"Yeah, whatever. Let's go."
Gray went ahead of Lucy, walking fast with long strides, while the girl had to jog in order to catch up to him. They walked for about five minutes but Gray still didn't speak to or even look at Lucy until they arrived at the amusement park where he asked Lucy which ride she wanted to try out first.
"I want to go on the hardcore rides first", she said excitedly. "Then we can go to the games and the gentler rides."
"Okay, let's go on that one", said Gray, pointing to the really loopy roller coaster.
With one long look, Lucy gulped and felt her feet become weak. "Er… On second thought", she said, sweat dropping "let's go on the gentler rides first."
"What's the matter, chickening out on me?" Gray said, smirking at Lucy with a really devilish look.
"Am not!" Lucy said, puffing her cheeks, balling her fists and stomping her feet.
Gray immediately looked away. "W-well, let's go then."
"With pleasure!" Lucy said, taking Gray by the hand and leading him to the line of not much people, let alone mages.
"Welcome to the Death Coaster, the most tongue-tying, knee-numbing, stomach-hurling, hair-stiffening roller coaster ride in all of Fiore! May I help you?" the lady selling the tickets said smiling, despite the really long and scary description she had just said.
"Two tickets, please." Gray said "Front row."
"Oh, is that a challenge dear? Nobody ever asks for the first row. Are you sure you're up to it?" The seemingly nice lady said, leaning closer to Gray from behind the counter.
"Really, now?" Gray said, flexing his arms. "Then, I guess it is a challenge then."
"Is the girlfriend doing front row, too?"
"No, I'm not." Lucy said. "To both."
"Both what?" the lady said, puzzled.
"I'm not doing front row ("" the lady said, puzzled.
"I'm not doing front row ("Yes, she is." Gray interrupted), and I'm not his girlfriend."
"Well, if she's not your girlfriend now", the lady started as she gave the tickets to Lucy first, then Gray "wait 'til the ride ends. We'll see something happen."
Gray blushed, as he seemed to understand the lady's words. "C-crazy woman…"
"Please enjoy the ride!"
"So I am doing front row after all." Lucy said, feeling extremely dreadful.
"sdfdhbfujshfihf…"
"What did you say, Gray?" Lucy asked, angry because what he said sounded like an insult.
"Nothing…"
"It's not nothing!" Lucy said, stomping her feet. "You definitely said something!"
"I didn't!"
"Yes, you did!"
"I said, you don't need to be scared" he started.
"Hmp!" Lucy pouted, then walked away, not even waiting to hear what came next in Gray's sentence.
"I'm never…" Lucy started weakly "Gonna ride that thing again—ever!"
After the ride, Lucy felt as if her soul had been left in the roller coaster and nothing was left of her and her appetite.
"Weren't you the one who said you wanted to go on the hardcore rides?" Gray said, helping Lucy up by taking her arm and putting it around his neck.
"Well, you're one to talk." Lucy said, putting all her weight on Gray. "You were so stiff during the whole ride!"
"…" At that statement, Gray flushed and cleared his throat. "I wasn't scared…"
"Yeah, you weren't." the girl replied sarcastically. Pfft, as if!
"Stay here", Gray said, seating Lucy on a bench near the amusement park stands. "I'll go get you something to drink."
"Y-yeah, thanks…" Lucy said, but Gray hurriedly walked away.
"You…" said an old, husky voice, that of a woman.
Lucy looked from left to right to see if anyone was nearby, then she looked in front of her, to see a woman in a cloak, facing her from a booth. Lucy pointed to herself, to clarify whether or not it was she that the woman was talking to.
"Me?"
"Yes, you… Come here!" she commanded, and Lucy obeyed. "I see a very troubled heart in you."
Lucy glanced up to the signboard and it read, Madam Olga's Future Telling Booth. "Um… Ma'am, I'm not here to get my fortune read. I—"
"Yes, you like this boy very much, yes?"
Wham! Lucy felt as if a hard hand slapped her. "W-Who are we talking about here?" she asked, trying to clarify whether it was Natsu or Gray. But then wondered why she also thought of Gray when she didn't really like him romantically or anything.
"The mage you were with. You like him very much, but you're denying it."
Were with? What's that supposed to mean? Lucy thought. Were as in just now, or were as in a relationship?
"He really loves you, you know…" the old lady continued. "He's just having a bit of trouble saying it, that's all."
"Excuse me, ma'am…" Lucy interrupted. "But who are we talking about here? Can I have a name?"
"I don't know his name."
"What about special skills?"
"He's a mage who controls an element."
At first, Lucy thought of Natsu, but then considered that ice is water, and water is as much an element as fire is. Wait, why am I thinking of Gray, too?
"What about… Hair color?" Lucy said, finally thinking of something that's different between the two.
"Ah, yes… I see… His hair color is—"
"Hey, get out of my stand!" a fat lady in a cloak like the old one shrieked. "Get ooooooooooooooooout!"
At the sound of this, the old woman scampered out of the booth and =was immediately nowhere to be found.
"I'm sorry, dear", the real Madam Olga apologized. "She does that very often. I hope she didn't disturb you. She's mentally ill, actually."
"I see…" Lucy managed to say, still shocked from information overload.
"So, would you like to get your fortune read?" the woman offered.
"No thanks…" Lucy said blankly, walking away and still pondering what the old woman said. She wanted to look for her, but she was really gone.
So, sitting in defeat and with a migraine, Lucy stared into space and thought of all the things said to her. Whether or not the woman was crazy was definitely of no importance to her. The words she had said sounded far more realistic than any other well fortune teller.
But why was I thinking of Gray, too? She thought. Could it be…? Could I actually like Gray?
Lucy flushed and shook herself violently. "No waaaaaaay~!"
"No way, what?"
Lucy looked up and saw Gray carrying a smoothie from one hand and drinking from another in his other hand—and he was sparkling.
"What the hell?" Lucy blurted out loud. Why am I imagining him like this?!
"What, you didn't want smoothie?" Gray asked.
"N-no…" Lucy said, taking the smoothie from Gray's hand (and accidentally touching it, too!) "Thanks…"
Lucy blushed hard, and she knew it. Oh, dear!
"Hey, wanna go in the House of Mirrors?" Gray offered.
"Hm?" Lucy turned to Gray, but he was still sparkling, so she looked away immediately, and without thinking, gave him a yes.
"Okay… Let's go, then…"
The House of Mirrors was creepy, a bit fascinating—but it was just creepy.
It was creepy because it ruined Lucy's figure and fascinating because at least she couldn't see Gray sparkling in there.
"Gray?" Lucy started.
"Yeah?"
Crash!
"Gaaaaaaah!" a voice screamed
"Kyaaaah!" Lucy screamed and grabbed hold of Gray, and Gray held her tightly.
Something behind them crashed, and it sounded like a mirror that broke, accompanied by a high-pitched shriek of horror.
"What was that?" Gray screamed.
"Sorry!" a male voice said from the other side of the mirrors. "Please don't mind, we're just experiencing some damaged facilities here."
"Geez…" Gray said. "You alright?"
One moment, Gray and Lucy were staring at each other, the next moment Gray was gently kissing Lucy's lips and Lucy was, well, liking it.
When they finally broke apart (panting and gasping for breath), Lucy put her hand over her mouth and looked at a wide-eyed Gray who was flushing like she was.
"I'm sorry…" Gray said. "It's because of the atmosphere…"
Gray immediately turned his back at Lucy.
"Wait, Gray!"
"What is it?" he said without looking back.
"Do you... like me?"
Gray stopped in his tracks to stare at Lucy. His expression was a mix of shock, anxiety, nervousness and mostly embarrassment.
Lucy forced out a laugh. "I didn't think so, either. I was just hypothesizing."
Still forcing a giggle, Lucy walked ahead of Gray. Oh, God, that was embarrassing!
"If…" Gray started, and this stopped Lucy from walking on. "If I say I do, what would you do?"
Lucy gulped hard. Is this really Gray? "I… I'd freak out, probably…" she joked.
"Yeah, I thought so, too."
"We should do this more often…" Lucy said, as they approached their hotel rooms.
"Yeah… And next time, maybe you could treat me." Gray snapped.
"Thanks, Gray!"
Gray stopped abruptly, and Lucy, who was behind him, bumped into him.
"Hey!" she said. "Why'd you stop?"
"We have a visitor." Gray said flatly.
He moved beside Lucy, revealing their visitor for that night, which made Lucy's eyes widen.
"Hey…"
"N-Natsu…" was all that Lucy could say.
Hehehe! Gray was sparkling~!
