WRITER'S BLOCK: I was saying something about storms, right? Guess what? It's storming here… they say it's some sort of Super Typhoon… Anyway, on with the story! _
NOTE: Most of the songs in this fanfic might be just poems I whipped up. But if I do use real songs, I will make sure to give credit accordingly so please do not sue me!
-CHAPTER NINE-
Where the piano scene is finally revealed!
The storm was really strong that Gray's umbrella kept on getting caught up in the wind. However, since he didn't want to get any more wet, he had to deal with it somehow. He plugged in his earphones and chose a song from his WIP playlist. Since the song he was making that morning wasn't quite finished, he thought it was a good chance to do some brainstorming as he searched for Levy.
"Fairy Tail's untitled song…" he heard himself say through the earphones. A catchy, smooth melody played and he started to critique it for improvement.
I see you sitting there
Trembling in the covers
Trying to keep yourself together
I see tears in your eyes
As you face this storm alone
Tryin' to make yourself seem stronger
As the song played, the wind grew wilder and the rain got stronger and Gray tried to cuddle himself for some extra warmth. Better find Levy soon so I can get myself dry.
As the rain falls on your window
As the strong wind blows outside
I don't want you to be scared
Not when I'm by your side
BOOM! The thunder clapped across the sky and Gray's umbrella finally gave in and was taken away.
"Crud!" he muttered, rain falling on his head and on his shoulders. He ran straight to find some sort of shelter. The music picked up tempo and it immediately opened to the chorus. So far, Gray liked how the song sounded.
Take my hand, sing my song
Wanna tell you you're not alone
When fear knocks on your door
We'll be singing in the storm
Get out and into my arms
I'll hold you tight, you'll be alright
When things just seem so wrong
We'll be singing in the storm
Cold and soaking wet, the brunette stumbled upon an open hall that had a grand piano at the center. To him, it spelled 'shelter' and so he ran toward it. Surprisingly, he wasn't the first person there as a girl wearing a purple dress and bandana was cuddling herself underneath the instrument. He couldn't see her face because her back was turned on him; but he could only guess who it was.
Levy, he thought. He paused the song that was playing on his phone and immediately approached her. The closer he got, the more he could see that she, too, was wet and trembling due to the cold.
"Levy?" He crouched down the piano, too, and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, surprising her. She turned to look at him and Gray saw chocolate brown eyes, extremely fearful, filled with tears that rolled down her cheeks. "L-Lucy?"
"S-Senpai…" she said. Lucy immediately wiped her tears and cleared her throat. "What are you d-doing here?"
It took a while for Gray to speak; the scared look on Lucy's face really bothered him. He wanted to ask her. He wanted to reprimand her as to why she was staying there—but what right did he have? "I… was looking for Levy…"
"O-Oh… So she's not back yet…" Lucy's trembling hand tried to part with her body as she struggled to get up but she immediately drew it back when the lightning flashed and she let out a small 'eep'.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Gray asked, his voice reprimanding. "And why are you alone?"
"I was also l-looking for Levy—" the blond put both hands on her ears, as if trying to block out every sound around her. "A-Anyway, I'll catch up with you later… Please l-leave…"
The brunette scrunched his forehead, a bit insulted. First, she didn't exchange numbers with him. Now, she was trying to get rid of him. He was Gray Fullbuster, after all. And she was ignoring—no, pushing him away!
"What're you—!"
Gray took Lucy's hand away from her ear out of anger. "Are you trying to piss me off? I'm worried about you here and you 're telling me to scram—!"
BOOM!
"Gyaaah!" Lucy yelped and stiffened. Her eyes widened and the tears flowed non-stop from it. Her lips quivered and she was trembling. Gray, as he watched, was also transfixed. Lucy is scared of the thunderstorm, he finally realized. A pang of guilt slowly crept into Gray's conscious and he bit his lip.
"H-Hey, you okay?" he asked, leaning in closer to her. He could feel her cold hands and her small, quick breaths as she trembled. "C'mon… Let's go to the main hall…"
"N-No…" she said, "I want t-to stay here…"
"Why?" he asked, confused.
"Please… Let me stay here…" she pleaded, holding herself and covering her ears again.
Come to think of it, she spends a lot of time under the piano in the music room, too, Gray thought. It could be that she found it comforting to be alone underneath the instrument but it didn't really seem to help. What a stupid girl.
Gray stood up and sat on the piano, playing the song he had composed earlier loudly.
"W-What… What are you doing, senpai?" she asked Even with her hands covering her ears, she could hear the piano playing.
"Shut up and think of this as a fan service," he said, "You shouldn't try to hide out here alone, you know…"
"… I've always been scared of thunderstorms…" Lucy hugged herself even tighter and covered her ears more. "They're loud and no matter what I do, I can hear the boom and see the flash—"
"Then I'll play and sing louder so you won't hear it," Gray said loudly, a bit annoyed. How could this girl be so weak? It irritated him to think that she's not being loud and proud as she usually is.
Gray sang the song as loudly as he could. He knew he wasn't singing properly, as Lucy taught him, but he didn't care. If it was the only way for Lucy to hear him instead of the thunder, it'd make him feel great.
The brunette sang and sang; his fingers travelled across the piano. He had already finished singing the second chorus and started to play the bridge. Come to think of it, I wasn't able to get this far with the song, he thought. But somehow, his brain got working and his mouth uttered the rest of the song as if he had already thought of it beforehand.
And if the storm is too loud
Don't be scared, just hold my hand
I'll sing for you loud as I can
Promise I'll keep you safe and sound
Gray sang the chorus one more time, even louder this time and he even raised the key to half a step higher. He didn't mind that his neck and his throat hurt a bit and that his fingers throbbed because he had been hitting the piano like a hammer for a while. He looked down and saw that Lucy was calmer and he smiled proudly.
"As the rain falls on your window… As the strong wind blows outside… I don't want you to be scared…" Gray gradually ended the song, "… Not when I'm by your side…"
A weight was now growing on his knees and when the song finally ended, Gray looked down on Lucy. She had fallen asleep, her head leaning on the brunette's legs. Gray smiled as he took his earphones and put it in Lucy's ears, playing mellow songs.
He looked around and realized that it was only drizzling now and that stars somehow surfaced in the sky. He smiled and cleared his sore throat. It doesn't seem as if he could sing the song and post it on YouTube when he gets to the dorm. Maybe he'll let Natsu sing it this time.
Yeah, he can sing it better than I, he thought. He looked down at Lucy who was sleeping soundly. He smiled. When she's not saying anything offensive, she's pretty cu—
"Crud!" Gray jumped up. What the heck was he saying?!
WRITER'S BLOCK: As I'm writing this, I want you to know that the roof on the shed adjacent to my room is about to come flying off. The wind here is totally extreme! This is what I call a storm… SCARY!
PS: Again, the song is just one of my immediate poems… Funny how scary situations can actually inspire you to write! What do you think? R & R to let me know…
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