I tried! Review, if you could!
Day 35: Dirt
I was twelve years old when I experienced my first defeat.
Mirajane Strauss, AKA Demon Mirajane.
She slammed me into the dusty ground. The sediment flew up, and landed in my mouth and eyes. I coughed and squeezed my eyes shut. It burned, but not as much as my anger was. A fist formed on my hand, and I slammed the floor. Mirajane cackled and pranced away.
I started to mutter to myself… the taste of the dirt was not what I wanted to relive. For a long time, I did not move. My hair twisted and mixed with the gravel below me. I never wanted to move.
"Oi. Erza."
It was shameful. I was a feared and respected warrior of the guild! Master said I could even requip armor.
"Erza!"
Then this tramp came skipping by in her dark outfit and scheming smile. How dare she…
"ERZA SCARLET!"
My heart lurched, and I looked up to see who tried to shout my full name and get away with it. No surprise who the offender it was.
"Your shorts are actually on today, but you forgot a shirt, Gray." The Ice Mage became flustered, but he quickly regained his state of mind.
"I'm not here to talk about my sketchy habits, okay? What are you doing on the ground, Erza? I saw Mirajane while I was walking—"
I held my hand up, "Stop. I hate that girl." Gray was silent for a while.
When he finally spoke up, he said, "She beat you, didn't she?" I picked at the forming scabs on my elbows.
I didn't reply.
Gray sighed. "Erza, stand up," I shook my head. "Erza. Stand up." I shook my head faster. All of a sudden, he bent down and grabbed me by my exposed shoulders. He shook me, which made my eyes snap upward.
"What?!" I stared at Gray's dark orbs. He looked rather concerned, which only made me feel worse about myself. "S-Stop looking at me like that, Gray."
"Get yourself off the ground, Erza! You shouldn't be like this! You can't just give up and live your life in the dirt just because one girl beat you down! This is where you get stronger, Erza. She's a rival, you know? Mirajane could help you get stronger. I've had to get used to the taste of dirt from my rival. That's just the way things are. But, you see, that only makes me want to get stronger. I wanted him to taste the dirt once I beat him."
Gray's eyes were firey, which was ironic for the Ice Mage. I had never seen such a look on his face before. It was inspiring.
"…Thanks. Sorry about that. I guess she just got to my head." I let Gray grab my hand to pull me up again.
Oh, and the "rival" Gray was talking about is Lyon. This was before Natsu came.