Chapter Thirty Six: Plans To Make

Juvia Lockser always knew what she wanted. At first, she considered it to be Gray Fullbuster, but after she confessed to him, he rejected her. It still didn't cause any doubts, because she was sure that at that point in time she wanted Gray. She still liked him a bit, but decided to ignore that since he obviously didn't like her. However, this… incident caused her to realize how much Lyon Vastia liked her, and she couldn't ignore that. Since he liked her so much, and was a great person, she could just be with him instead. In the end, after Gray, she considered him to be the next best choice. So she could just date him, right? In this way, she wasn't losing; she was just getting the next good guy. And, since he liked her so much, maybe by being with him, she could forget all about Gray. Or at least that's what she thought.

The girl, now proud of her marvelous plan, grabbed a scarf as she finally went out the door of Fairy Hills. The chilly air welcomed her as she closed her eyes to simply embrace it. Juvia Lockser enjoyed winter. For her, it seemed to be a season with new surprises. She would always find out things she didn't know, ever since she was born, about the more bizarre stuff ever. That's why the girl found winter inviting and completely unexpected. She looked forward to it without knowing what was coming her way, and she was proud of that.

Juvia just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that it was December already. Oh, how quickly time passes by, she thought to herself. Thinking about that a bit more, she realized what she had to do. Even though Juvia hadn't seen Lyon for a long time, she didn't worry about it. She last saw him a few days before Halloween. Afterwards he didn't come to school the next day, and that was the last day before their winter vacation. They hadn't met since, but that didn't really matter, or did it? The girl, now putting her scarf around her neck and tightening it, got ready with a smile. It was time to go tell Lyon how she really felt about him. And boy, she was in for a real surprise.

xxx

It was the third time that he rang the bell, when the door finally opened. As it did, there stood Lucy in her pajamas, her hair in a messy bun, and eyes groggy like she just woke up. She had dark circles and a pair of black thin rimmed glasses on her eyes. Gray Fullbuster did not expect this.

"Oh, hey," she croaked. Literally, croaked. She stepped aside to let Gray in her apartment. He was, at first, reluctant to do so, but eventually smiled and stepped in out of politeness. He looked around the apartment. It was neat, one thing that he really liked, and actually quite cozy. It kind of had a homely feeling to it.

"So, what brings you here?" he heard her say as the door behind him closed. He turned around as she lazily walked to him. She honestly looked, to say the least, bored out of her mind. At this point Gray questioned himself if one, he really wanted to be here or not, two, why he actually came, and three, if this could be done later or not.

"Uh, I came to talk. But first, don't take it wrong, I have to ask: Lucy, are you okay?"

The girl, at first, seemed a bit shocked, but then regained her composure. "Why yes, I'm fine," she said, in a more calm and proper way this time.

"Okay," Gray said, dragging the 'A' a bit. He wasn't sure if to believe her or not, but decided on doing so since she seemed better than before.

"Well, would you like to have a seat?" Lucy asked him to show some hospitality.

"Uh yeah, I would, thanks," the boy said while taking a seat as Lucy guided him.

"Now, Gray, why are you really here?"

The boy sat up straight and decided to be blunt. There was no point in wasting time doing useless chatter, anyway. "Have you talked to Natsu?"

"I don't think he wants to talk to me."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm… just dandy. Things are not really that bad."

"Well, uh, Lucy… okay, this thing about Natsu… he's trying to solve some stuff, okay? He might seem like the villain here to you, but he really isn't. There are just a few things he needs to deal with, figure out, and get rid of. It's… well, I don't know how to say this but… I just need you to trust him."

"What's this problem of his anyway?" the blonde asked, tired. She had been researching, trying to figure out Natsu's secrets for the past month, and she had a few ideas, but none were confirmed. She was, now, absolutely fed up. "I just… I don't get it. Why can't he tell me what's wrong?"

"I admit he's taking time in that," Gray told her, "and that's not really good. But Natsu's problems are his to share, not mine. He'll tell you when he thinks the time is right."

Lucy sighed, putting her head down. If she had to wait for when Natsu thought was the right time, then it would take forever. After all, it had been so long while she gave him his space, but the girl still didn't know anything. It was truly tiring, but she still wanted and needed him.

Gray shifted his position a bit, adjusted his seat, and cleared his throat, "By the way… how's… um, how's Erza doing?"

"Good," Lucy replied, sitting up and leaning back, "a thousand times better than me."

"I see. We seemed to run into each other some while ago. She seemed well. Have you… spoken to her recently?"

"She comes to visit sometimes, along with the girls, and sometimes just her alone. We talk, I guess. On the phone as well. We were just making some plans for Christmas last night."

"I see," Gray uttered. "Well… uh…"

"You care about her," Lucy stated.

"Huh? What?"

"Don't you?"

"Don't I wha–"

"You care about her, don't you?" she cut him off, while he simply took in her question.

"Um, yeah… I guess…"

"I don't really see the problem here. What's wrong between you two?" Lucy asked, a bit out of curiosity.

"There's nothing wrong," he answered in a calm tone, "I guess I just… it's not really what people think, I care about her as a friend."

"But she likes you. You know that, right?"

"I've had Loke tell me that a few times," he sighed, now leaning back as well, "and it's quite obvious sometimes. I've never spoken to her about it, though."

"You should," Lucy advised him, "you two are quite compatible you know."

"So? That proves nothing."

"That's true, but, to be honest, I think if you two pursued a relationship then it–"

"I'm engaged, Lucy. I think you should know your limits." There was something about the tone he used. It wasn't just dark but, in a way, kind of guilty as well. It scared her a bit, but arose a new curiosity as well.

"Okay," she said, putting her arms up in surrender and sitting straight, "whatever you think is right."

"Anyway," Gray said, standing up, "I've said what I wanted to. I guess my job here is done."

"Do drop again sometime," Lucy told him, now standing up as well.

"I will," Gray smiled on his way out, but stopped just for a moment, "Oh and, I'm going to help you out a bit here. I'm going to Crocus with the boys tomorrow, Cana's dad is holding kind of a Christmas party. I'm inviting you, do drop in. I'll message you the details on your cell and, uh, maybe you can… bring Erza with you…"