Heeeeeeeey Minna! So, I know you are probably mad or frustrated with me for being on a nearly two year hiatus, and I truly do feel bad. I had just gotten into college and it was extremely stressful. I couldn't commit to the fanfiction life like I used to. After some adjustments to my life, I plan on writing more often and put more time into this. It's relaxing and I love my fellow fanfictioners!

With that being said, without further ado, enjoy the next chapter of this! It's definitely full of emotion, so be prepared! I got some yaoi moments in there as well between the current couple, so enjoy that as much as you can!

Anyway, DISCLAIMER! I do NOT own Fairy Tail! All those rights go to Master Hiro Mashima! I only own the plot! Enjoy!

Chapter 10

I woke up the next morning with a gasp from a nightmare. I continued to breathe rapidly, still thinking about the disgusted eyes that were staring at me from the darkness of the dream. Though that disgust doubled when I recalled last night.

I could not believe I did such a thing. I couldn't be more ashamed. I lay there, just staring at the green number twelve on my clock, drowning in guilt from my actions. What I became. I relied on the one thing I couldn't stand to make me feel better. I shuddered at the memory.

I felt like I could just lay here forever, not caring about my friends or Hibiki or Alistair. I just curled into a ball and shut my eyes, listening to the sound of the air conditioning that roared to life. I felt a headache come on slowly. I turned away from the clock and pulled the covers up further, wanting to let go of all that has happened these past few days.

Unfortunately, life wasn't as merciful. I still had the show tonight and tomorrow and an insane instructor who will have my head if I even think about missing without telling him. However an idea occurred to me. I slid out of bed and searched for my phone, finding it in the pocket of my jeans that I left in the hallway from last night. I unlocked the screen and quickly dialed the numbers I had long ago memorized. On the third ring he picked up.

"Hello?" came the gruff voice of my director.

"Alistair? I have an issue," I told him, crossing my fingers for luck.

"What do you want?" Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed….then again he always did.

"I'm afraid I'm not feeling well. I had a rough night with my friends and they forced me to drink and I don't think I'm performance ready for tonight," I explained. I felt guilty for throwing my friends under the bus, I really did, but I felt even worse about last night. I needed a valid excuse, and knowing that Alistair doesn't like my friends worked in my favor. His next words proved that.

He growled. "I figured they would do as much. They just don't seem to understand that you have more important things to worry about." He sighed. "Fine, I'll call the understudy and work with him for tonight. But, remember, this is the only performance you get to miss. I don't want this happening again. If it does, I don't care how you feel, you will perform." And he hung up.

At least I'll get the day to myself, I thought happily. That is, unless Natsu or Hibiki decided to visit. If that does happen, I just hope Erza doesn't come with either of them, especially Hibiki. I don't want him worrying about something like last night.

Suddenly a knock came from the front door. I sighed, snuggling further into my mattress. When the knowing persisted, I groaned and got up, disregarding the fact that I was in only my black boxers. When I opened the door, Hibiki was standing there with a troubled expression. I frowned and stepped to the side to let him in.

"What's wrong?" I asked, shutting the door.

"Eve's awake, and he wants to dance in the performance."

"No," I immediately responded. Once he removed his jacket and shoes, he ventured to the couch and sat down, crossing his arms. I followed him and sat down next to him, taking his hand in mine.

"That's what I said, but he's not being reasonable. He says he doesn't want to disappoint Alistair." I frowned.

"Screw Alistair, Eve has a fractured hand. What makes him think he can dance with that, plus the bruises? It'll only make things worse."

"Preaching to the choir, Gray, but he just…." He shook his head. "He won't listen. He says as long as his legs work, he's performing" He huffed in frustration. I squeezed his fingers reassuringly.

"Want me to talk to him?" I asked.

"No, don't worry about that, Ren's dealing with him right now. And besides, that's not the only reason why I came here." He turned slightly, facing me completely. "What was that conversation about last night? I never got the chance to ask you and Erza looked pretty worried." I groaned inwardly. This is the last thing I wanted to talk about.

"That…wasn't anything important. They were over reacting about nothing."

"What was it that they were overreacting about? It wasn't anything if Erza was that worried. Is there something I need to know?"

"Erza gets upset when her strawberry cake isn't in front of her within thirty seconds at the Bakery the minute she walks in. You don't need to worry about what happened last night, because there is nothing for you to worry about."

He gave me a reluctant look. "You don't need to hide anything from me, or be embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed, there's nothing to tell you. Don't you trust me?" I pouted slightly.

He frowned. "….Yes, but still, I would like to know what..." He sighed when I looked down. "But, if you really feel that strong about it, then I guess I don't need to know."

I gave him a half smile. "Thanks."

He returned my smile with his signature charming grin and leaned down to kiss my forehead. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly. I returned the gesture, inhaling his sweet cologne, relaxing against his lean form. If only I could be as perfect as him.

My eyes teared up slightly at the thought. I hugged him tighter against me and he did so as well with just as much ferocity. When he pulled away, I looked up to him, my eyes barely keeping my tears back. Hibiki frowned, though he quickly kissed both my eyelids, then my nose then my lips. We stood there for a long time, mouths locked together. Eventually, his lips parted slightly and his tongue prodded my mouth open. I obliged slowly, letting the muscle coax around, heating up my body. My heart paced faster and I gripped his back, clawing my nails down his shirt. Hibiki's breath hitched and he pulled hugged me tighter. The kiss started to heat up quickly and soon we were walking back towards my room.

We were well into the make out session when my phone rang, Taylor Swift's voice like nails on a chalkboard. I kicked it away, muffling the sound on the floor. I crawled on top of Hibiki and threaded my fingers into his hair. I sighed in content, my phone's ringing falling into the background.

We continued this for an hour. When we finally did finish, my hair was all mussed up and my lips were swollen. It was a miracle that my boxers hadn't come off. Hibiki was in a similar situation, although he somehow had lost his shirt.

"So, have you had lunch yet?" he asked, finding his blue button up on the floor.

"No, I just woke up when you came," I replied, walking to my closet to grab some clothes.

"I'll whip us up something then."

"That's fine, I'm not feeling all that great. I'll just have some OJ. But you're welcome to have anything." He raised his eyebrows but went to the kitchen anyway.

I had just come out of my room when Hibiki had found some remnants of last night. He frowned at the emptiness of the kitchen.

"What happened in here, did an elephant eat all of your food?" he asked.

"When Erza and them came last night they ate most of my food," I lied. "Then when I got home I ate some more. I guess I didn't realize how much was taken."

"Oh, ok. Well, do you want to go out to eat then"? I shook my head.

"Want to order something instead?" I asked

Before Hibiki could say anything, his phone went off. He sighed before he flipped it open.

"Hello?" Whoever was on the other line was not happy. I frowned.

"His hand is fractured! What do you expect?...You're going to get him more hurt…..Yes…..yes fine…..yea sure Alistair…yes sir, I'll be there as soon as possible." He clicked it closed, clearly annoyed.

"What does he want now?" I asked.

"He wants to rehearse to fill in Eve's rolls. We're splitting up his parts. The doctors strictly told Alistair that Eve cannot perform."

"Well, I suppose that's good," I commented.

"Yea but I got to go. I'll see you later, ok?" I nodded. When he left, I went into the bathroom to shower. I took my time with this one, since I knew I didn't need to be anywhere.

The hot water was very relaxing against my skin. It has been a while since I didn't need to worry too much about work. Ever since I joined, it has been living hell. One would question why I didn't just leave. My only answer to that was that I loved it so much. This was the only studio in Magnolia that had a good enough reputation. I also didn't want to move away to any other place. I came here just to get away from my siblings. Magnolia is a well-known town but not too big to draw the attention of my mom's company. I sighed at that thought.

Mom. Oh how I wanted to just leave that drawer in my mind closed and locked. It has been years since she passed away. Ultear was several years my senior, so she took over the company after high school and Lyon went to university as a business study. He went into the company as head of human resources.

And I became a dancer.

That definitely did not sit well with them. Mom reserved positions just for us in the company when she got sick. Sure, I felt guilty for leaving, but mom was also the one who encouraged my dancing. She came to every recital, every audition, she was there every time I didn't get a part. Even when she was sick she made every effort to see me.

Even the shower couldn't hide my tears.

I took a shaky breath before I turned the water off.

When I walked out, I saw my phone on the floor, face down. I picked it up and saw all the messages and voicemail. Thankfully none of them were from Alistair. I typed in a number and waited for the pick-up.

"Hello?"

"You rang?"

"Gray?" came a gruff response.

"Erza. I see you're as bright as a fairy."

"Cut the crap, I'm coming over." And there went the line.

I sighed. I half wished I didn't call her, but if things were to be done, I wanted them done when I didn't have to worry about work.

I looked at the other messages but they were all from Lyon and Ultear. I deleted them before my curiosity killed me.

I got dressed in some sweats and a t-shirt and went through my practice regime before Erza arrived.

Just as I finished my stretches, I heard a knock on the door. I walked over, checking to make sure Erza was alone. Thankfully she was. Unfortunately, she had something in her hand that looked extremely suspicious.

"When is your call time?" she asked, briskly taking off her winter wear.

"I'm not performing tonight."

"What? Why?" She actually looked sullen.

"I have some business to take care of."

"And I'm assuming I'm part of that business?" I nodded. She sighed.

"Want anything to drink?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine. Here, I brought you food." I looked down at the take cart she had. My stomach turned at the sight of the fast food she brought.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry." I pushed it away. She glared at me. It took all my might to not fidget.

"I'm not leaving until you eat something."

"If you're just here to force fed me like an obsessive mother then I have nothing to say to you." I started to push out her away. She stood her ground and deepened her glower.

"Obsessive mother!? Gray, I'm just trying to help!"

"No, you're trying to make me eat junk so that I can't be a performer anymore. You honestly think Chick-fil-a is the best thing right now?"

"Gray-"

"No. If you're just going to try and control me, then you have no place here." I started pushing her out the door.

"Gray, stop it, we need to talk." I paused at the new voice.

"I thought we were going to have this conversation alone," I questioned.

"Erza didn't call me, Gray. I came on my own," Mia replied.

"How did you even get in? I haven't given you the passcode."

"Some nice person. But that's not the point. Let's go inside and just have a conversation about this."

"About what? What exactly is wrong here? I don't understand what you're all upset about!"

"You have an eating problem!" Erza exclaimed.

"What the hell are you talking about? There is no problem!" I yell, completely confused.

"Can't we just go inside your apartment and talk about this? We're making a scene."

"No, unless you give me a concrete reason on why you're so concerned, then I don't want to hear it! I have better things to do! You're so annoying!"

It was silent. Both Erza and Mia gave offended looks but I didn't care. I was sick of them being so knit picky about my lifestyle. Honestly, if they worked half as hard as I did, they would actually understand the stress I am under. I trust Alistair enough to know that he knows what it takes to be a perfect dancer.

After a couple tense minutes, Mia sighed. "Alright Gray. You're right. There's nothing wrong. We forgot that it is flu season. You must be very sick." She held up her hand to my forehead. I frowned.

"Yep, he's a bit warm Erza. Maybe we should let him rest." Mia's expressed didn't sway one bit from its stoicism.

I narrowed my gaze. She's up to something.

"I suppose so," Erza said slowly. "I'm sorry, Gray, for putting all this stress on you. Go to sleep. I'll bring you some medicine later. Enjoy your night off."

"Wait, you're not performing?" Mia asked, her face twitching into surprise before melting back into the detachment.

"No, I'm not feeling well," I replied. She nodded.

"I see. Well, then get some rest. I'll see you later."

I nodded and closed the door behind Erza.

If there was one thing I knew about Mia, it was that she was not easily angered. When she was, you knew you were in for it.

And one of the many things I knew about Erza, she hardly ever expresses her emotions quietly.

So combining those facts together, I knew something was going to happen. What I didn't understand was why.

I felt a rage rise inside me unlike any other. I wanted to punch something, anything, scream, cry, shout, but none of those actions suited then anger I felt. I fisted my hair and glanced around, feeling my control over my emotions wither away. My breathing hitched and I tightened my hold until I felt as if I was going to pull my hair out. I felt my chest constrict and I could barely breathing. I ground my teeth.

In the end, I just threw my coffee table to the side.

Mia's POV

"I'm assuming you did that for a reason."

"Yep."

"And that would be?" Erza asked.

"We can't force Gray to admit his problems. He needs to realize it himself if he will have any chance of getting better. We have to be more systematic and subtle about helping him."

"And how do you expect us to do that? Gray doesn't exactly…take hints well."

"I know. But I have an idea."

"Great. I'll let Hibiki, Natsu and Lucy know."

"Hang on. I think we should keep this between you and me for now. We'll let others know when the time is right."

SOooooooooo, what did you think? Angsty, yes, but this story is about eating disorders, so it's going to contain a lot of emotion in it and some dark themes. And trust me minna, I am just as annoyed with Gray as the rest of you are. But I want this as realistic as I can get it, so I gotta take necessary steps to do so.

Alright, so! As I have mentioned in my chapters before, please feel free to review in any way, shape or form. Constructive criticism and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome and highly encouraged. Also, if I forgot to respond to any of you, please let me know via review or PM. I will be happy to answer any questions, concerns or even just fangirl out XD. I honestly don't bite and I love talking to my readers. I love hearing your input. I'm not going to lie, it really boosts my self-confidence.

So, until next time! Scarlet out! Loves y'all!