A/N: First of all, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews. I am so glad so many of you are enjoying the story, and that I didn't get any hate for the strangeness of Lucy's past. Today we explore the past of another character and I can't wait to hear what you think.

This chapter is dedicated to FFnet user Pingly187 who I would like to thank for the song recommendation: Perfect Blue Buildings by Counting Crows.

Perfect Blue Buildings

Gray's morning started out like any other. He awoke to the shrill beeping of his alarm in a mangled nest of fabrics: his comforter spilling off the bed and onto the floor and his sheets woven around his limbs, proof of the time he fought to get away from the coverage during the night. Why he still bothered to use blankets was a mystery. After untangling himself from his sheets, his bare legs instinctively found their way to the bathroom to do his business. Stop number two was the kitchen. One pale, callous hand found it's grip on the preset, fresh-made coffee while the other landed on a clean mug drying by the sink. No time was wasted as he filled the ceramic vessel and downed the steaming contents, careful not to spill the dark liquid on his naked chest. Soon, his coffee was paired with a bowl of cereal to form the drummer's breakfast.

Finally caffeinated, Gray returned to his bedroom to don a pair of shorts and sneakers, prepared to head out on a run. He enjoyed this activity daily as a way to reset his mind for things to come. His phone hung heavy in one pocket, keys in another, as his headphones trailed across his chest to his ears. Locking the door behind him, he set his soles to the pavement with abandon.

Just down the street from your hotel, baby,

I stay at home with my disease.

Today, this rejuvenation was especially needed. Sure, last night Gray had a nice time. He went out with his friends and won a contest. He enjoyed the ability to let go and focus on carrying a beat. Yet, in his chest grew blooming interest for a certain blonde- well, interest and confusion. She was intriguing, and mysterious. She wasn't like others who shared themselves freely, wearing their emotions and experiences like an open book. She kept to herself, but inside of her passion rage and fought to burst forth. He was able to witness a fraction of that passion last night and couldn't deny, she reminded him of himself.

And ain't this position familiar, darling?

Well, all monkeys do what they see.

Help me stay awake, I'm falling...

However, that wasn't the only thing on his mind this morning.

Down on Virginia and La Loma,

Where I got friends who'll care for me...

In just two short hours, Gray had a very important meeting. A meeting with Koriho Tsukamaki, an executive at one of the most well known publishing companies in Fiore. For years now he had been working on telling his own story, using manga as a vehicle to deliver just that. There are many out there who need to know life can get better. He would give them such a story. A story of determination, of a young boy thrown into the world after the death of his guardian and teacher. Of those he met along the way, and his path to Fairy Tail.

Ice Trail would tell that story- with a magical twist.

You got an attitude of everything I ever wanted,

I got an attitude of need.

As Gray turned down another street he begged his mind not to play through the memories. Funny how our bodies only listen to us when they want to.

Help me stay awake, I'm falling...

Ur Milkovich was his aunt, his mother's sister and his only living relative after his parents, Mika and Silver, succumbed to the fatal Deliora disease. Gray had only been six years old when he was forced to move up north to stay with Ur, her daughter Ultear, and her foster son Lyon. Although he had been unhappy with these circumstances at first, Gray's feelings changed the longer he spent time with his aunt. Children were her passion. After almost losing her daughter in infancy, Ur decided she wanted to help other children in need. She began volunteering in her community and a few years later she came across Lyon, a poor young boy in need of a home. Her home and her heart were filled when Gray stepped in.

Asleep in perfect blue buildings,

Beside the green apple sea.

Gonna get me a little oblivion, baby.

Try to keep myself away from me.

Ur's other passion had been music. In her youth she had played the drums, joining with friends and rocking in girlbands. To Ur, drumming represented freedom. The freedom of movement and sound, the creation of rhythm and the beat of life. This was a gift she shared with her boys, filling the house with discordant sound and driving Ultear mad. To Gray and Lyon, she taught all she knew.

Gonna get me a little oblivion, baby.

Try to keep myself away from me.

It was Ur who first encouraged Gray's talent for drawing. They started as childish doodles on construction paper with crayon, but Ur was always ready with a smile and a complement each day he returned after school with a new picture. Soon enough, his pictures found their way on every page he could find, filling the cracks of his homework assignments and distracting his mind from his surroundings. As the months went on, the children in his class turned on the kid who was always scribbling away. They made fun of his drawings, of his lack of parents, and of the strange stipping habit he seemed to pick up as a result of his drumming. He began to get in fights, and Lyon was no help. He had no pity for his unwanted, makeshift-brother.

It's 4:30 A.M. on a Tuesday.

It doesn't get much worse than this.

It was then that Gray's drawings took on a dark side, turning violent and full of pain. He seemed obsessed with depicting the death of his parents. Their disease transformed with art into a monster, a demon too powerful to defeat. This event represented the source of all his unhappiness. If they had not died, he would still be smiling and living with them, right? He wouldn't have school bullies, he wouldn't have a brother who hates him, and he wouldn't randomly throw his clothes around.

In beds in little rooms in buildings in the middle of

these lives which are completely meaningless.

Ur's smile twisted when a bloody-nosed Gray returned from school one day and handed her the image of himself standing victoriously over the frozen bodies of his schoolyard tormentors. Instead of getting angry, the kind woman knelt down to her nephew and prodded him gently, "Gray, you're so talented. Why do you draw such dark things? I know you've had a rough life, and those bullies of yours aren't helping, but you shouldn't let the darkness gain control of you." Her worried expression transformed into a soft smile, resting a hand on his shoulder, "I know you're angry, but your art could be so beautiful if you just focused on the light."

Help me stay awake, I'm falling...

She was right, but he didn't have the sense to listen to her then. Another year went by, and school hours were still consumed by comments torturing the weirdo orphan who spent more time drawing than paying attention to his teacher. Recess only meant one thing: another fight. Of course, another fight meant another afternoon stuck in the principal's office, a stuck up man who refused to believe the angry child was being victimized. It was times such as those that the boy wished he could join his parents as a resident of the afterlife.

Asleep in perfect blue buildings,

Beside the green apple sea.

Gonna get me a little oblivion, baby.

He gave up on his anger, he gave up on fighting back. His injuries got worse as the bullies used his apparent cowardice against him. They called him a chicken for not fighting back, but it didn't stop them. Gray couldn't find it in him to care. He gave up on drawing. It didn't bring him joy or relief any longer. Ten years-old and he walked through each day as ghost, barely feeling. He simply laid down and took his beatings like a dog, with each one wishing they would just kill him instead.

Try to keep myself away from myself and me.

All of that changed one day when he, Lyon, and Ultear were helping Ur clear out the attic. He was pulling bric-a-brac out of a dusty corner when he found it, an old hand gun. Young, midnight-blue eyes widened as they traced the object in his hand. His mouth opened for a moment, about to announce his discovery when he suddenly realized this gun could solve all his problems. He simply hid it until he could discreetly stash the firearm under his bed.

I got bones beneath my skin, and mister...

There's a skeleton in every man's house.

The antique sat there for a month or so as he entertained his options of how to use it. He would turn it on himself and end all his suffering. No more bullies, no more stupid Lyon. He would be with his parents again. He just had to work up the nerve.

Beneath the dust and love and sweat that hangs on everybody,

There's a dead man trying to get out.

However, it was on a Friday, during one particularly brutal beating that his thoughts began to change. Almost like a reflex, as if that gun had given him power again, he sent a right hook smack into the face of the ginger-haired boy who had been hitting him like rapid fire. With his muscles flexed and a smirk on his face Gray came to realize that he was not the problem. It was these other kids, these bullies, who deserved to die. If they were gone, Gray could find happiness again, he could go back to drawing and make Ur smile.

Please help me stay awake, I'm falling...

His plan was hatched. After school he returned to the attic and tracked down some old bullets. He took them along with the gun far into the woods behind the house where he set up a few cans to practice his shot. Satisfied with himself after one day of practice, Gray stashed the weapon in his backpack.

Asleep in perfect blue buildings,

Beside the green apple sea.

The following Monday Gray overslept, leaving Ur to bring him into school an hour or so late. He sat in the passenger seat of her minivan in front of the school as she wrote up his tardy note. Ur instructed him him to put the note in his backpack so he would not lose it on his way into the school. He unzipped the large pouch and dropped the paper in as he swung his door open and made his way out.

Gonna get me a little oblivion, baby.

He didn't notice the large rock his foot slipped on as he made to exit the vehicle, causing the contents of his backpack to spill out all over the front seat. Time moved in slow motion as he panicked, reaching to hide the gun back in the sack just as Ur laid her eyes on it. Two sets of hands landed on the firearm, Gray's on the handle and Ur's on the barrel.

Try to keep myself away from me.

It wasn't meant to happen.

The gun was old and the safety was faulty.

Blood was pouring from her chest before the two could process what had occurred.

When the ambulance arrived Ur told them the gun had fallen from the glovebox when Gray tripped getting out of the car. That the gun was old, but it was all she had as a single mother to protect the ones she loved. Gray was too shocked for words and didn't argue. It was in that ambulance that Ur shared her final words with him.

Perfect blue buildings...

"I just want all my children to be happy, to see the world and all it has to offer. I only regret that I couldn't seal away your darkness. If you just focus on the light, Gray, I know you will shine."

Gray would never forget the light touch of her cold hand as she spoke, or the way the pressure fell away with her last breath.

Beside the green apple sea.

That was when child services came. Ultear had been 18, legally an adult and able to take care of herself. Yet, for whatever reason, Lyon and Gray were separated. This suited young Fullbuster just fine. Lyon had never liked him, and even lashed out at Gray for causing Ur's death. After all, if he hadn't been late to school, the event never would have taken place. Gray cursed Lyon for not knowing just how right he was. The other boy would simply serve as a reminder of his sin. It's better to be apart.

I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby.

So, Gray was sent to an orphanage in Mone run by Fiore State Council member Torch Endeavor. Most of the children there were kind, but their circumstances were not. Each friend he made soon left him. The was Nano, a kind girl a year or so younger than he was. She took to him right away, but not much time passed before she was adopted by a loving couple. Then, there was Mary and Amelie sisters rescued out of human trafficking who stayed at the orphanage briefly while their living relatives were tracked down. Each friend Gray made soon left, moved on to a new family, leaving Gray behind to be tormented by Unicol and that idiot Milk Boy.

Try to get myself away from myself and me.

When Gray entered middle school he was excited to learn that the school band offered drums. Finally, the universe had restored some solace to the boy, providing him with a distraction from his sorry lot. He stayed after school in the band room everyday and practiced. This, he would never regret.

At the end of the year, Mone Junior High hosted a benefit concert. The junior high's band would be opening for one of the most popular musicians in all of Fiore: Guildarts Clive. Knowing this was his last chance to sit being the drums before summer came, Gray had played his heart out that night He fought his guilt to remember the words Ur had told him. Drumming represented freedom, so for that evening he let himself be free.

Oh, little perfect blue buildings.

When it was all over Gray sat outside the school, staring out across the river as he waited for Torch-sama to pick him up. It was then that he was unexpectedly approached by Gildarts himself. The older man lowered himself down on the curb beside the boy, lighting a cigarette as he did. Gray started in shock at the closeness of the famous musician, who simply kept his eyes on moonlight reflecting off the water. The boy was taken aback further when the man spoke.

"That was some drumming you did back there, kid." Guildarts sent Gray a sideways glance, only to laugh when the kid continued to stare. Placing the cigarette in the crook of his lips, Guildarts offered his hand. "Name's Guildarts. Nice to meet ya."

Well I can't keep myself away from me.

Gray simply stared at the rough grip thrust toward him. "You got a name, kid?"

"Gray." The boy blurted.

Guildarts broke out in a large smile as he returned his hand to his cigarette. Blowing out a puff of smoke he asked, "Where'd you learn to drum like that, Gray? Surely they didn't teach that in this dump." He took another drag before looking back to inspect the school building.

Gray looked down at the worn sticks clutched in his hands before answering quietly, "My Aunt Ur taught me."

"Ur?" Guildarts ran the syllable through his memory, coming across the image of the female drummer flanking another female guitarist and bassist in a club back in his twenties. "Ur Milkovich? You gotta be kidding me!"

The young drummer had thought he couldn't be any more shocked, but he was wrong.

"Man, I begged her to be my drummer back in the day! What's good ol' Ur up to these days?" Guildarts' grin reached his eyes as he expectantly waited for Ur's pupil to answer.

Gray's body shook at the question, his grip on the sticks tightened as a few tears flooded the night that lived in his eyes. "She... Uh..." But the words wouldn't escape.

Oh, little perfect blue building.

Guildarts sobered at the boy's response, stamping out his cigarette on the concrete before offering his condolences. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, kid." A large, warm hand laid itself on the boy's back, offering comfort. Guildarts thought back to Ur's response the night he had asked her to join him on tour.

"I appreciate your interest in my talent, but tonight was my last show." Ur instinctively held her stomach, a smile capturing her lips as her eyes fell to meet her hand, "It's time for me to focus on raising the next generation."

Here he was, a piece of Ur's next generation, and at such a young age he played with a passion that rivaled her own.

"You had a marvelous teacher, kid. I think she would be proud of you."

Gray looked up, catching the soft yet serious expression displayed on the older man's face. It only lasted a moment before Guildarts was pushing himself off the pavement and onto his feet. He stood there for a moment, eyes fixed on the horizon across the river.

"Anyway, I came over here to tell you something. I think you got talent, kid. From what I can tell you got it pretty rough here, but across that river in the west, there's a town called Magnolia. If you go there, you'll find a place for people like us. It's a guild called Fairy Tail."

How am I gonna keep myself away?

Gray fixed his eyes into the darkness across that river, as if he would be able to see the town if he stared hard enough. A place for people like us. He turned to ask Guildarts what he meant, but the older man was gone. Torch-sama's beat-up car was coming around the bend.

It only took Gray a few months to save up enough money for a boat and train ticket. He was sick of Unicol and Milk Boy. He was sick of Black Vox Orphanage. He was sick of Mone. Most of all, he was sick of staring out across the river. With a note left behind for Torch-sama, Gray took all he had and left. Only one thought stood fixed in his mind: Fairy Tail.

It didn't take long for the art to return to him, for his drawing to return and set his mind free of the burden he carried. He would never forgive himself for the incident that took Ur away, but he vowed never to let the darkness take him again.

How am I gonna keep myself

Away from me?

This was the story who made Gray Fullbuster who he is. This was how he found Fairy Tail. The place that filled his life with friends who last for a lifetime. The place that housed his true family. A place to call home. Fairy Tail was his light. With his focus on it, he would tell his story.

Gray returned to the front door of his apartment, panting. With any luck, Koriho Tsukamaki would see the passion in Gray's drawings. The passion he held for the young ice-make mage who set out to train after the death of his master, only to find his way to his true home: the wizard guild Fairy Tail.

It wasn't long before his meeting now. Gray opened his door, removing his headphones and removing his phone from his pocket. He prodded over to the fridge, reaching for a bottle of water as he checked the time. He still had an hour and a half. As he made his way to the bathroom for a shower.

Keep myself away,

How am I gonna keep myself away from me?

After rinsing himself of his stressful run, Gray emerged anew. He would sell his story to Tsuamaki. He had to. He dried his hair, dressing in a button down and slacks before heading out the door. In the front seat of his Outback he checked his device one last time, opening his messages to find one unread.

Conversation: Erza, Flame Brain

Erza: Greetings, boys. After ending my tour I ran into an old friend who is getting married this weekend on Halloween. He expressed to me that he was having trouble finding a replacement band for the reception, as his previously booked band had an emergency arise. While I think it is simply inexcusable for anyone for break a commitment like that, I kindly offered our services. I figured this was a good time for the three of us to play just like we did in the old days. I will contact you later with further instructions.

Keep myself away,

How am I gonna keep myself

Away from me?

A/N: I know you were probably hoping to find out what happened when Natsu and Lucy woke up together and get some Nalu Fluff, but I kinda gave you the opposite of that. I really like Gray's character and felt he deserved his own chapter.

If any of you are wondering where I pulled out names like Mone (pronounced mo-nay), Nano, Torch Endeavor, Black Vox, Milk Boy, ect. you should read the real Ice Trail by Yuusuke Shirato. It's a Fairy Tail spin-off manga. The manga Gray is writing is supposed to be based on that.

I plan to develop more side characters as I did with Gray. There will probably one or two chapters devoted to each along with some gradual development through the story. Lucy and Natsu aren't the only crazy diamonds in this story who need to shine.

It looks like we're moving on to the Lullaby Arc! Time to meet Erza! I wonder what kind of musician she will be?