Heey you! I'm sorry (or not, in general the longer a chatper is, the happier the reader is), this chapter is reaaally big but I couldn't cut it anywhere (it would have been really weird, even though I finally found a part where I could cut it (and so put it in the next chapter). But don't worry if you don't like when the chapters are too long, the following ones will be less long (because I don't really like when a chapter is too long to read... It doesn't give me the desire to read it and I end up reading it while forcing myself. What's more, when it's too long, I don't feel like correcting it with my beta, so I take really long time to update...).
Basically, the chapters will be less long but I won't be so long to update.
Absolute-ZERO999, don't worry, you'll have more than a Grayza moment or two in this chapter! I don't think I'll expand on other couples moments, apart from a few times, but I'll probably keep their formation quiet (but I already have the outlines of Lyvia and Gale).
GrayzaFanXD, thank you very much! :D
Lucia Ten, be patient, I explain for Erza and Lyon in chapter 14 and chapter 15 ;)
Erza sighed. The journalists had literally leapt on her during the interview. Once it had finished, Erza joined the other presidents. She suggested to them to have lunch together, all six of them, to be able to save time in the afternoon because they still had to finalise the closing event.
The other presidents exchanged looks.
"What? What's wrong?" asked the young woman.
"Erza... You can leave it to us this afternoon," Laxus said to her.
"What? But..."
"Laxus is right. You ran everywhere in the campus since the beginning of the festival. You just had an afternoon... if that!" added Lyon.
"That's my job,"
"Maybe, but even us, we had time for ourselves. You're the only one who didn't fully enjoy the festival. And what's more, we already did the most important things. Only some details remain and if there is a problem, we'll handle it."
"Erza-san, you're involved a lot in your president's role, and I admire you for that, but you need to rest and relax," said Wendy.
"I loathe saying that, but Pikatchu (Laxus) is right," added Jenny.
Even Jenny agreed!
Erza smiled. "Thank you, in that case, I leave it to you,"
They smiled back at her (except Jenny who still held a grudge against her because of the interview, for the journalists hadn't been interested in the top model but in Erza) and she left.
Erza finally had some free time to enjoy the festival. She thought she would spend some time with her friends and started to walk to find them when a hand caught her arm. She quickly turned around, fearing that it was a student who needed her help. She would have never thought that it would be him. Her eyes widened when she recognised the handsome face who was staring into them. It was Gray. He was breathless, a hand on a knee, the other one still holding her arm, as if he feared she would fly away. He looked as if he had ran – which was the case – and a smile of relief appeared on his face.
"I've found you, at last! It's impossible to lay my hands on you!"
She looked at him, surprised. He realised that he might seem weird and that he was still holding her arm, and let go of her. He scratched the back of his head and apologised.
"Sorry, you must be busy... I'm probably bothering you. I should let you have a breath,"
He turned around, not knowing what the hell he was doing while he had been waiting for this moment for a few days. He took a big breath and made one step, when Erza grabbed his hand to hold him back. He turned around to face her and she smiled at him.
"They gave me a free afternoon to thank me for my job, but I don't know where the girls are..."
His eyes widened.
'So she's finally free! This is my chance!' He thought.
"If that's so, how do you feel about easing off on the pressure with me? I'm fed up with spending my time trying to escape from the fans," he suggested (he had removed his wig because it itched him).
She didn't know why, but she was glad he asked her that. Actually, she had hoped he would do so. She agreed, her smile still on her lips.
Gray called the boys to tell them he would eat with Erza and they searched for a stand of food which would seem attractive. Then, they had lunch in the park of the campus after finding a quiet spot, away from fans. When they had finished eating, they strolled around the festival but they were quickly solicited. But this time, it wasn't to run a stand or make people come. In fact, it had nothing to do with Erza's job as a president, even though the organisers used her status as a pretext to convince her, saying that if she didn't help, they wouldn't have the contest anymore.
Erza thought that it was just to help in the organisation of some contest, but when she ended up backstage on the girls' side while Gray was on the boys' side, she started doubting it. She then asked a girl who was choosing a dress what the contest involved.
"You're taking part in a contest which you know nothing about?" she asked while laughing.
"They dragged me here without telling me more..."
"I see... I've heard that there are fewer participants than for the solos because you need to be in a couple and in general, one of the two lovers doesn't want to join it,"
"They told me it was likely to be cancelled," said Erza.
"Oh, I don't think so. From the moment there are two couples, it's possible,"
She jerked her head towards the other girls who were there. They were around ten.
"I've been fooled..."
"It seems so," said the young woman while smiling. "By the way, I didn't tell you what contest it is, in the end. It's the contest of Miss and Mister Fairy couple,"
Erza almost choked.
"Miss and Mister Fairy... couple?" (She had been so disorientated by the fact that she was joining the contest that she had not paid attention to what could have been a hint before).
"Yeah, the solos were during the week, but don't worry, unlike the movies, we all do that for fun (or because we were fooled). Well, maybe some girls really want to win and dragged their boyfriends here..." she said to reassure Erza. "You should change yourself, it's going to start soon," she advised her. She started to leave and suddenly turned away. "By the way, the first theme is 'soirée chic'"
"Because there are themes?!"
"Yes. The second one is the pairs, the third is the swimsuits and the last one is school uniforms,"
Erza thanked the young woman without really having listened to her and hurried to choose a dress. She opted for a long, electric blue, bustier dress (because most of the other girls were wearing a black or red one and even though there was a large choice of dresses, she had fallen in love with it). When the presenter started speaking from the stage, she started feeling ridiculous. She was wondering if she had made the right choice in choosing this dress when she heard Gray's voice coming from the other side of the curtain which separated the girls from the boys. Apparently, he was looking for her. She followed the sound of his voice and responded to him.
"I feel ridiculous... I shouldn't have chosen this dress. I should have been more conventional, like the others."
"I'm sure you're everything but ridiculous,"
"I would like to see you in my shoes! You boys, have black, grey or white suits,"
"Yes, but not only. There are some which are horrible with weird colours,"
"Don't tell me there are boys who chose them?" She asked, amused.
"Of course there are! And believe me, it's pretty dreadful to see. I wonder what their partners look like..."
Erza chuckled, wondering how funny it would be to see those couples when two of the staff's students (one at each side of the curtain) asked the girls and the boys to line up to start going on stage. Thus, Gray and Erza had to move away from one another.
"Try not to strip in the meantime," she whispered through the curtain.
"Hey!"
She chuckled once again and headed toward the other girls.
The presenter started announcing the couples which came on stage as he went along. As Gray and Erza had been the last who had registered (by force), they were the last to go on stage, so they waited patiently.
Erza and Gray looked at the curtain that separated them, as if they knew that the other was doing so, too, and while Erza slightly smiled (at the curtain), Gray's heart sped up. The presenter's voice made them come back to Earth and they both looked right in front of them, ready to go on stage.
"And to finish, a superb couple – my favourite, if you ask – that no one would have expected with Gray Silver from the band Ice Dragons and the president of the student council of Fairy High, Erza Scarlet!"
Erza appeared and turned her head toward her right where Gray was standing. He was... stunning. Surprisingly, he was entirely dressed, his hair still as messy as usual. He was wearing a smile which was widening more and more when he saw her. She instantaneously blushed and turned her head to face the public, worried because she didn't hear anything. She was surprised when she saw that they all had their mouths ajar. Was she too conspicuous with her electric blue dress? Was she hurting their eyes? Because yeah, even though Gray was handsome, all the eyes were on her. Even the girls'! Erza started panicking. Then, the public started to recover their voices. She managed to hear some comments which were not what she had expected like, "The other girls have nothing on her," or "I knew she was a stunner but here..."
She came around, just like Gray and then, they headed toward each other. She landed her hand on the one that Gray was handing to her and they moved forward toward the front of the stage. They stayed there for a few second to let the public see them better. Then, they headed toward the other participants. The boys of the other couples were drooling for Erza while the girls were devouring Gray with their eyes.
The presenter announced the following theme which was the couple outfits. The participants went backstage and separated to choose their outfits. Erza stayed quiet and headed toward the display stand of clothes. She started rummaging when Gray teased her.
"So, who was ridiculous?"
"The guy with the green suit and his girlfriend in yellow," Erza said, which made Gray laugh.
"You mustn't have seen the guy in an orange suit,"
"There was a guy with an orange suit?!"
"Yeah, but you were so absorbed by me..."
She slightly hit his arm.
"Who had his mouth wide open when he saw me ?"
"And you said that I'm arrogant?" he said, chuckling.
"You're the one who started it,"
"Sorry Scarlet. So does that mean that you were obsessed by the guy in green?" he asked, pouting.
She laughed again.
"We should hurry up and choose," she said, handing an outfit to him.
"Sailors?" He asked, raising a brow.
"Do you prefer chicks?"
"What about Parisian?"
"As you want," she said, not really caring about the outfit.
After a while, they went on stage when the presenter called them. They both were wearing a French sailor shirt with blue stripes with a black skirt for Erza and black pants for Gray. They also had a red scarf and a black beret.
Erza was really cute as a cliché Parisian. As for Gray... If he hadn't been originally good-looking and if his shirt didn't perfectly fit his chest closely, he would have been ridiculous. The girls seemed to disregard it and were staring at his perfectly sculpted torso.
At first Gray had thought that his idea wasn't that good, but seeing that nobody was making fun of him, he ended up thinking that eventually, he wasn't that ridiculous. However, unlike the girls in the crowd, when Erza saw her partner, she laughed at his get-up. He puffed his cheeks and looked daggers at her, which made her laugh even more.
They left the stage to change and the presenter announced that the third theme had been cancelled, which brought about boos from the public (disappointed, aren't you ?).
He then explained that the academy had refused that theme. Protests burst out from everywhere. Apparently it also was because of Gray and Erza, given that the public's reaction at their first appearance.
Gray was disappointed and relieved at the same time. He didn't like this kind of contest in which the participants paraded in all sorts of outfits, especially in swimsuit. It was too superficial, and what's more, he didn't like the idea of all those boys checking Erza out.
Thus, the candidates had to choose their third outfits. This time they had the choice between different school uniforms but of course, they had to make a match. Gray and Erza chose the basic uniform for a high school student while some tried out middle school uniforms (some others tried primary school uniforms, but they were rather ridiculous).
The public was enthusiastic with the couple Gray/Erza, even though it was a basic uniform. Actually, the others had wanted so much to distinguish themselves that they didn't look like anything... Some even had made a mix of uniforms.
But it must be said that no matter what Gray and Erza wore, they both looked as if they came straight out of a fashion mag (you just have to remember Gray as a Parisian).
All the couples went back to the backstage in order to change into their normal clothes. Then, the presenter announced Miss and Mister Fairy couple, and of course, it was Gray and Erza. It seemed to leave them completely indifferent and they left the stage together without a word.
After a while, Erza stopped in front of a placard. Gray saw that her eyes had started sparkling so he read what had made her react like that. It was a contest – again – but this time it wasn't about being Miss or Mister something. It was a cosplay/ disguise contest (it wasn't only cosplay). The first prize was a strawberry cake from the bakery Sweet Honey.
'Cakes again?!' Gray thought. He knew that she would inevitably want to take part in it, the contest mixing both disguise and strawberry cakes. And sure enough, they went to register. Gray pretended he simply wanted to optimise their chances because they would be two participants, but in reality, he just wanted to spend more time with her (after all those years and the week he had spent, he really deserved it).
They then went to the backstage to choose their outfits. Erza wanted to dress up as a knight but Gray advised her to change her mind if she wanted to win, to what she agreed. She took another outfit and went to change. When she went toward Gray to show him what she looked like, he almost choked. She was wearing a bunny girl disguise, revealing a great part of her body. He was completely against it and told her it might tarnish her image as president. She then went back to change. She came back in a different outfit but just as revealing as the previous one. She now was dressed like a sexy nurse (because all the nurse costume were like that). Once again, Gray was against it and pretended that it wasn't really a disguise. She sighed and returned to the changing room. Gray hoped that she would choose a less revealing outfit. He had already seen the reaction of the boys during the previous contest and he didn't want it to start again (a bit of respect, please!)
When he saw her arriving, he almost had a nosebleed. She must have read his thoughts in the other way because she was now wearing a sexy cat outfit, even more revealing than the previous ones. He took time recovering from the shock and told her that there were already plenty of girls dressed like that while avoiding to look at her (he didn't want to take advantage of the situation). She sighed again and puffed her cheeks. This time, it was too much for Gray. She was really cute when she had this expression on her face.
He prayed that this time, she chose something which wouldn't give dirty thoughts to a boy. He wouldn't know which pretext to give her this time...
When he saw her from afar, she seemed to have more clothes on her, to his utter relief. When she arrived near him, he was able to see what she was wearing and his heart jumped; she was disguised as the Snow Queen. He briefly thought of the moment when he had given her her nickname and felt happy to see her in this dress. Maybe she hadn't forgotten it in the end? He smiled at her and nodded in agreement (she didn't need his permission but she preferred him to choose her costume).
The contest had already began when Erza was choosing her disguise, so she didn't wait too long for her turn to go on stage. The public had already been agitated since the beginning of the contest, but when Erza went on stage, it was on fire. Even if she wasn't wearing a sexy outfit or something like that, she was really cute (for a change). She was so radiant (especially because there were cakes as a prize) that the public had completely forgotten the previous candidates.
As for Gray, well... in what was he even disguised? He was bare-chested with his lucky necklace. The presenter introduced him as an ice mage when the raven haired young man struck a pose. He was rather badass.
The public became hysterical and screams burst out from everywhere. All the girls were jostling or fainted while the boys were squeezed and suffocating. Yeah, Gray had this effect... especially when he was bare-chested.
The girls finally calmed down when he left the stage.
"Seriously? An ice mage? You just removed your shirt!" exclaimed Erza, making Gray laugh.
"The boys' clothing was bad." he justified himself.
When the results' time came, all the participants went back on stage. To their surprise, Gray was first and Erza second. They were close, only a few votes, but it seemed that there were more girls than boys... because yes, almost all the boys had voted for Erza, just like the girls for Gray.
Erza was sulking. Yes, she was sulking. She had been beaten by a perverse exhibitionist who hadn't even been disguised!
To make it up to her, Gray gave her the whole strawberry cake. However, she felt guilty. They sat down on the grass of the park and she started eating. He was happy to see her like that, devouring her strawberry cake with enthusiasm. Seeing that he was staring at her she thought that he wanted a piece of her cake so she offered it to him, by culpability. At first he refused it but she insisted.
"I don't share my strawberry cake every day. You should make the most of it,"
He chuckled and ended up accepting it. It was true that she had never offered it to him when they were young, except when he wasn't well. She used to think that it would have comforted him to eat strawberry cake, like it would have been the case for her, but actually, he was always happy at her gesture because it meant a lot coming from her.
When they finished eating, they set about walking until they caught sight of a little girl who was crying. Erza went toward her and asked her what was wrong and the child answered she had lost her mother into the crowd. Erza smiled at her.
"In that case, come with us. We will take you to the reception and have your mom called,"
When the little girl finally noticed that Erza wasn't alone, her eyes widened.
"Gray Silver!" She started jumping everywhere, forcing Gray to calm her down for fear of being spotted by his fans.
"Well, you have fans of every age," chuckled Erza.
"It's not funny!" he said, desperate.
After asking the little girl her name – which was Lily (not Panther Lily) – they started walking, on a quest to find the reception area. Erza even advised Gray to hold Lily's hand.
"Why me? You seem to manage children better than me,"
"I think she would prefer you," she said while looking at Lily who nodded with a big grin.
He sighed and complied. It wouldn't be good if she got lost again.
After around ten minutes, they came across a little boy with raven hair. He had fallen and was crying. Erza acted like with Lily and asked him what was wrong (apart from the fact that he had fallen). He had also lost the person he had come with; his big brother.
Gray sighed.
"At this rate, we will lug all the lost kids around with us,"
Erza slightly smiled. "We can't leave them alone. Those who they came with must surely be worried. If we take them to the reception, it will save them from missing each other while looking for one another,"
"Why don't you seem surprised? It's already two children in ten minutes,"
She smiled at him.
"It often happens during the festival. It's so huge and there are so many people that even adults lose touch with one another,"
Gray mumbled in agreement, thinking back at what he had endured to find her.
They first went to the nurse's office to care for the little boy whose name was Shota. The nurse being overwhelmed (with all the fans who had jostled and who had been crushed during the cosplay contest, people had been bound to be wounded), Erza herself nursed Shota. They had had to withdraw in a corner because of the fans.
While Erza was nursing him, Shota blushed, staring at her all along. He had a crush on her.
Gray laughed inside. She had laughed at him because of Lily so now they traded places.
When she finished, they quickly went out of the nurse's office and headed toward the reception. Erza was holding Shota's hand while Gray was holding Lily's. On their way, they came across the other members of the Ice Dragons who didn't refrain from laughing at Gray (although Lily had the same reaction as with Gray when she saw them) and Loke teased them, saying that they looked like a family, which, of course, made the two childhood friends blush madly.
At last, they reached the reception area (not without having had to put up with more teasing from the members of the Ice Dragons). Erza had been right, a lot of children got lost during the festival for they must have been about ten of them, waiting for their parents.
Gray and Erza headed toward one of the receptionists when someone exclaimed, "Shota! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
It was a tall and handsome young man with dark skin. He took his little brother in his arms and started reprimanding him. He then spotted Erza (and secondarily Gray) and introduced himself with a seductive voice.
"Hello, I'm Ren Akatsuki. Nice to meet you," He bowed like a prince, took her hand and kissed it.
Erza introduced herself in turn, her cheeks slightly red. Gray, who was attending the scene as if he wasn't there, was about to introduce himself, too, in order to show this annoying playboy that he was also there, but Ren didn't allow him the time to do so.
"Thank you very much for having found and looked after my little brother. How can I thank you? Maybe a coffee or a drink? We would be able to get to know each other,"
This Ren something... Gray did not like him at all. He was worse than Loke and totally ignored his presence. He was however grateful to Shota who intervened, otherwise he wouldn't have been very nice with the playboy.
"Onii-san, stop hitting on my future wife,"
Maybe not that grateful in the end.
Erza blushed wildly.
As for Lily, she reminded Gray of her presence and pulled Gray by the sleeve, forcing him to leave the others. After a little moment, he managed to get rid of the little girl, offloading her onto the receptionist, and went back with Erza. Nevertheless, he was surprised to see that she was alone. Actually, not that alone; Ren was knocked out and Shota was laughing at him.
Gray smirked. At last, the Erza he knew was there.
He took her by her hand and pulled her away from the playboy.
"What happened?" he asked her, already knowing her answer.
"He was a little too clingy,"
Gray laughed and she timidly smiled at him.
He then realised that he was still holding her hand. She didn't seem to have noticed it so he decided not to let her go. He hoped that nothing would bother them anymore, neither children nor playboys, and much less students who would ask for their help.
They walked like that, randomly, for a few minutes. Then, she removed her hand without really noticing it. He felt a bit disappointed but turned away in order to see what was going on. She had stopped in front of a stand : it was a drawing contest. She looked at the participants, intrigued. A student spotted them and asked them if they were interested. Gray then asked what the prize was. Apparently, it was an extraordinary prize but they didn't know more about it because it was a surprise prize. Erza thought that it was a mountain of strawberry cakes (again... She really was the only one who would have thought it), so she decided to be a part of it. Actually, she wasn't really convinced that it was the prize, but she wanted to try this contest since it seemed to be funny. Of course, Gray didn't want to be dumped alone so he decided to take part in it, too.
The student told them they had to be paired off for the contest (but the prize was individual) so they teamed up with each other. They sat on two chairs that were on the stage and a student gave them everything they would need to draw. They had an hour to draw each other so they set to work as soon as the presenter gave the starting signal.
Erza was concentrating and frowning from the very start.
"Hey Scarlet, just chill, or else, my masterpiece will be ruined," he teased her, chuckling.
She puffed her cheeks, frowning even more, but tried to comply.
Gray then realised that he had been right to take part in the contest. That way, he could look at her without it being weird.
While he was drawing her, he analysed everything that could have changed for those ten long, past years.
Her hair, that he already loved, was even more beautiful now that it was long; her smile still made him melt; her gaze seemed to have softened with years; and her lips reminded him of their sweet goodbye. He blushed at the memory, which Erza noticed.
"Are you okay, Gray? You're all red,"
He blushed much more.
"Yeah, don't worry,"
"Are you sure? You're redder and redder... Is it because of the sun?"
"Yeah, it must be it..."
She knew that it wasn't the sun, looking at his reaction, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it. She decided not to go deeper in the subject and drew his redness, thinking he was cute.
After an hour, the presenter gave the ending signal. When Erza showed Gray her drawing, Gray was shocked. Erza had been so concentrating in drawing him... for that? On her drawing, Gray seemed to be wincing in pain. As it was in black and white, she had coloured his whole face in grey. Was that his redness? He understood that he had blushed more and more when she had pointed it out to him, but there... He looked more like someone who had just received a tin of paint right on his face.
Honestly, it looked like a five years old child's drawing... if that! Gray had to admit that even though Erza was gifted in many things, drawing wasn't one of them. Well, you can't be good at everything, after all.
Erza looked at him, full of hope, waiting for his opinion.
What was he going to say? Luckily, they would only say who the winner was. Thus, there wouldn't have a second, a third or a last rank, but he did have to comment her work.
"Well... It's...surprising,"
At least, he spoke the truth. His tone implied that it was rather positive (even though he was hesitant) but at least, he didn't lie. He just deceived her a little.
She seemed satisfied with his answer and he handed her his drawing. She was also surprised, but in a good way.
"Is it really me?" she asked, her eyes widened.
He nodded, a smile appearing on his lips.
"It's beautiful! You really embellished me."
"It's more the model who..." He stopped. It had gone out alone.
Erza stared at him, her cheeks taking a vermilion colour. She turned her head, thinking she was hiding her redness, but it was just the opposite.
"I didn't think you were so gifted," she said to fill the gap which had started to set up.
"It must run in my family; my mother is a painter. Besides, I hate saying this, but I have to admit that my brother is way more gifted than me."
She stared at him.
"You too?"
'What? Maybe I've said something I shouldn't have said...' Gray thought, regretting having said too much.
He scratched his cheek. "What do you mean?"
'Please make it so that it isn't what I think,'
"Lyon is also from an artists' family. He is incredibly gifted. Incidentally, he is the one who made most of the banners and placards for the festival," she explained to him.
"The guy from the other time?" He asked, trying to be indifferent.
"Yes. He told me the same thing as you; that it was hard for him to admit it but his brother was more gifted than him," she said, slightly laughing.
"Did he really say that?"
She looked at him, taken aback.
"I mean, it's crazy that we said the same thing." He tried to catch up while scratching the back of his head.
She smiled at him. "Yes it is,"
He had had a narrow escape. He should be more careful of what he would say from now on. If she learnt who he was after a few weeks, she would be mad at him for not having told her anything. But he especially feared her reaction if she didn't remember him. He knew that it would be hard for him to bear it so the better thing to do was to act as if he was Gray Silver and nobody else. Lyon was probably right; he was a wimp, a coward who was scared to learn the truth. He preferred being uncertain rather than hearing her telling him that she didn't remember him because he didn't matter to her as much as she did to him. He was happy about finding her again and it was enough for him. At least, he tried to convince himself of that.
Erza gave Gray's work back to him and they waited for the announcement of the winner. To Gray's big surprise, it was him. He went to get his surprise prize and when he went back toward Erza, he seemed disappointed.
"So, what is it?" she asked him.
"Tickets for the hot springs wherever, for a whole class."
"That seems good,"
"I expected something better, seeing the way they praised it... But you're right, it could be fun,"
They left the contest and wandered between the stands.
"Well, you beat me two times already. I want a return match," said Erza, full of beans.
Gray smirked. It was true that Erza wasn't the kind of person who lost without fighting and it was a part of her that he really liked.
"You sure?" He asked, still smirking.
"I am,"
They started with the human target game. Each of them had five balls and had to touch the target student as many times as possible. Erza began and didn't miss once. She threw the balls with all her strength for their speed to be significant enough to prevent the student from having time to avoid them. Incidentally, maybe too much. Because of her, the target student had to go to the nurse's office and will probably be unable to fecundate for a while... The class who managed the stand asked them to leave, preventing Gray from playing.
They then decided to test their strength with the high striker. Erza started once again (ladies first) and smashed all the records. Gray then understood why the target student had had to go to the nurse's office. Erza handed him the hammer but he thought it would be preferable to miss his turn. He feared to be ridiculous facing her.
They played a game which combined strength and precision again but this time, Gray started (if not, he would never play). He just had to aim at the target to make the student (who was sat above water) fall into the water. He won without difficulty and gave his prize to Erza, which was a strawberry-shaped key chain.
They then decided to do a rifle shooting, enabling them to go head to head (which was still the principle). They made a clean sweep off all the prizes thanks to a faultless performance but did a dead heat. The students who managed the stand had to beg them to leave, or else, they wouldn't have any prizes left. Gray and Erza went to another stand which was archery. They started to go head to head again but the students from the previous stand told the students who managed this stand about Gray and Erza, so they stopped the two childhood friends before they won all the prizes (and it was a good thing they did so, because the raven haired boy and the president had already won more prizes than anyone else at the stand).
They then did a karting race and, at last, Erza won. By a hair's breadth, but she did win.
They decided to have a break in their competition and went to the open-air concert. They could enjoy just two songs because one of the organisers had gone to meet them. He explained to them that the band that was supposed to perform wouldn't be able to go on stage for its members had stage fright (to such an extent that their hands were shaking, preventing them from playing). Originally, they were supposed to perform four songs, that's why the following band wasn't there (the four songs were supposed to enable them to have spare time before going on stage). The organiser then asked (or begged) Gray to go on stage, just to have more time to manage to call the other band.
Gray hesitated. It bothered him to leave Erza alone while they were spending the afternoon together, which Erza noticed.
"Go ahead, don't worry about me,"
"I don't know..."
She smiled at him, "I don't mind," He suddenly had an idea.
"Alright, but you'll come with me,"
She was shocked. She hadn't really expected that. Gray knew that she sang wonderfully well and he thought that it was a shame not to share the pleasure which overwhelmed him when he heard her singing.
"I'm sure you'll be wonderful. And what's more, I saw you on stage; you're used to the public,"
What a mistake. She always was good during rehearsals, never on stage. Thursday was an exception, thanks to the president of the drama club.
But in addition to performing in public, she would sing with him... HIM! He destabilised her sufficiently, so performing a duet with him... Without forgetting that he was a worldwide known singer...
Gray then whispered in her ears, "I know you can do it. You're Titania, after all, the Queen of Fairies,"
"How do you...?"
"I heard you saying it to Cana," he told her while smiling, amused by her surprise.
She smiled timidly.
"Fine, but don't expect something extraordinary,"
Gray smiled again, took the guitar that was handed to him and asked Erza if there was a song she wanted to interpret. She pondered a few seconds and responded, "Ain't nobody by Jasmine Thompson,"
He nodded. He knew the song because Gajeel listened to its acoustic version ceaselessly. Yes, Gajeel. This guy was a real tsundere (a male version).
They went on stage and Gray sat directly on the stage, his legs hanging from the platform. That way, he knew that Erza would feel more comfortable. In the meantime, the latter headed toward the mike, her heart pounding like crazy. There were way more people than during her theatrical performance. Added to that, one of the organisers thought it was right to remind her that the concert was broadcasted all over the campus. She had heard the concert throughout the whole afternoon but hadn't pay attention to it and had thought it was just background music, not the concert which she had to join...
Erza gulped. All these eyes glued on her because they were the only two on stage... Fortunately, Gray was here to monopolise the girls' attention, but there still were those who didn't care about the member of the Ice Dragons.
She looked toward him, uncertain. He offered her his most beautiful smile. He thought it would give her assertiveness but it had the opposite effect. She felt weird when she saw his smile (but in a good way) but she didn't know what kind of emotion it was so she panicked much more.
The public started to wonder what was going on and set about chattering.
Erza took a breath in and told them what song they were going to perform while waiting for the following band. She cast a small glance at Gray which told him he could start playing.
.
* Ain't nobody, acoustic *
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(If you want to hear it, just type : Ain't Nobody - Chaka Khan (Cover By Jasmine Thompson) - Full Version with Lyrics) Just imagine that the harp is replaced with a guitar (at least, I guess it's a harp... But I prefer this version to the most recent, although the latter is with a guitar).
.
Erza was trying to empty her mind, like she did for the piano. After a hesitant start, she started thinking of Gray (but which one? Well, a bit of both) and gave the impression that she was escaping; living the song at that very moment and that she was singing to someone.
She finished the last note in one breath. Everybody was surprised by her performance, including Gray. What he had heard at her place was just an overview. But the public was also impressed by their symbiosis and their synchronisation despite their improvised performance. It was as if they were one. The public burst out applauding, but this time, it wasn't for Gray's chest or his charisma. There weren't hysterical squeals of fans, merely a feeling of enjoyment.
.
.
Gray and Erza were trying to find the best spot to attend the parade. It was not an easy task, especially when you were Gray Silver.
It had already been difficult for them to leave the stage, given that the public had asked for more over and over again. After a few more songs, they had finally managed to leave the stage. But now that they were back in the massive crowd, they had to avoid being stepped on while trying not to be spotted.
After a long while, they managed to pull themselves out of the crowd and to find the perfect spot. They were at the very front and could perfectly see the parade. But being at the front also meant being before the eyes of everyone who is on the opposite side of the path. Thus, Gray had to hide his face, all the more so because the people who were opposite them were, for a great majority, girls.
The parade began and the students started marching. The orchestra of the Academy had been preparing this event since the beginning of the year and it was up to the public's expectation. The music club also took part in the parade, just like all the other clubs.
Usually, the members of the students councils joined, too, but because of the extent of the festival of this year, as well as all the preparations which accompanied it, this year was an exception. Erza would also have to join the members of her clubs , but it was difficult for her to join both of them, unless she split herself up.
Logic would have been that she should have joined the kendo club, being its captain, but as she was supposed to supervise the parade with the other presidents, in case of any problems, she was dispensed of it.
For once, she was delighted not to have to assume her president's role because she could spend time with Gray (although she would never admit it).
As soon as the parade ended, the students rushed toward the main stage (the one where Gray and Erza had performed). The closing concert was about to start soon and it was better not to be away from the stage, although it would be broadcasted throughout the campus (there would be famous people from all over the world, after all).
On the other hand, Gray and Erza didn't hurry. They had reserved places thanks to their status, even though Erza would not go to watch over the concert with the other presidents. They therefore headed toward the stage unhurriedly and joined the other presidents, as well as the other members of the Ice Dragons.
When they arrived, they all greeted Gray and Erza, with a smirk from the members of the boy band as a bonus. Gray ignored them, suspecting the reason why they were laughing at him (knowing a certain childhood friend).
Erza left Gray for a moment and headed toward the other presidents. The young man then joined his friends, trying to act as if they weren't smirking. But talking with them wasn't that easy, since they didn't respond to him, still smirking with a mischievous look on their faces (especially Loke).
"What?" Asked Gray.
"We know everything," said Loke.
"What are you talking about?" asked the guitarist in a would-be casual voice.
The others joined the conversation.
"Don't pretend not to know! We know everything that you have done this afternoon, Mister Fairy," teased Gajeel.
"H-how do you know that?"
"The whole campus is aware of it. Well, you're a member of the Ice Dragons and Erza is the president of the student council of Fairy High... And anyway, everybody ends up being aware of it in this kind of contest," answered Sting.
"We also know that you both took part in a cosplay contest and that you won while being half-naked – for a change," said Natsu.
"Yeah, it's not complicated to win if you strip! It was rather unfair," exclaimed Gajeel.
"You know very well that it isn't my fault!" Gray shouted, blushing, which made Erza turn around while Lyon smirked. "It never is..." ended Gray, lowering his voice.
"Yeah, yeah, we know," all the Ice Dragons said (apart from Gray, of course).
"By the way, we also know that you won the drawing contest... Who would have known? The others must have been rubbish at it,"
"Erza joined, too,"
"Seriously? She must have been really bad to lose against you," yelled Natsu.
"I draw well! But yes, she was rather catastrophic at drawing..."
"But she was great on stage," completed Loke.
"D'you hear her?"
"Nope, we were in an attraction at that moment, but we heard people talking about it. Actually, we know about all that because people kept commenting on your performances. But what really made people talk was your song,"
Gray smiled, hearing that, even though he would have preferred keeping this afternoon for themselves, he and Erza, without everybody being aware of it. Loke had understood that and said to Gray, so that only the members of the Ice Dragons could hear him, "But we are the only ones who saw you hand in hand,"
"And what's more, all you did after all that got unnoticed, since it wasn't on stage," added Gajeel.
Gray smiled at his friends, grateful. He knew that they loved teasing him (and so did he with them), but he also knew that they were true friends and would never let him down and always cheered him up when he needed it.
He smiled even more, thinking of his afternoon. In the end, he and Erza had had a bit of privacy...
I know, the part about the cosplay contest looks like Dressing room by Genie For Your Wish (a one shot that I really like) but as I read it a long while ago, I forgot it when I wrote this chapter. I came across it again a few days ago and when I read it for the second time, I realised that it was the same principle (although it's different). I must have liked this one shot so much that I wrote the outlines on the same basis! Anyway, I hope that you liked it all the same and if you haven't read Dressing room yet, it's a very good story!