DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.

CHAPTER 8:

"The tears of Aphrodite?"

I nodded. "That's what the woman said. She said that no mortal soul should ever possess the tears of Aphrodite."

Erza let out a breath as she leaned back on my couch. It was dawn when she arrived back from Crocus and after stopping by her apartment, she directly went to mine. I was currently making us breakfast while I tell her about my dream.

"So, what did you find while you were in Crocus?" I asked as I set down our plates on the table.

"I met a woman named Amaya who studies about magical artifacts," she began. "I didn't tell her directly about the necklace. But according to her, artifacts embedded with magic have been prevalent ever since the ancient times."

"But how come we never heard any of it?"

"Because magical items look like common everyday tools for humans," Erza answered. "A cup is just a cup. A necklace is just a necklace in the eyes of humans." She walked over to the table and took a seat, thanking me for the meal before she continued speaking. "Simply put, a non-magic user would never know something is magical because they wouldn't have the ability to trigger it."

My eyes widened in realization. "That explains why we didn't feel any magic coming from the necklace when we met with Maul. He wasn't a wizard."

Erza nodded. "His family had the necklace for generations, yet none of these things happened because they lack the ability to unlock its magic."

"But Maul said that the necklace needed the warmth of blood so it wouldn't rust. That was what made it magical."

"My theory is that the necklace did indeed need the warmth of blood to preserve its form. But that's only the beginning of it. The powers of the necklace lied dormant and hidden for hundreds of years because it was possessed by non-magic users. The necklace's powers awoken when it came in contact with you, Lucy."

"So this necklace is embedded with seduction magic."

Erza nodded. "That seems to be the case."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "But it's strange, Erza. I mean, Gray and Natsu don't seem to be affected by it. And even our guildmates, they seem to be fine whenever I show up in the guild."

"Yet another mystery," Erza replied. "We'll try to look more into this and figure everything out together."

I sat down, suddenly feeling like my head was about to explode from all of that information. But I was grateful for it. We were finding answers now and that was one step into understanding this necklace more. And I keep hoping that if we understood it better, we could find a way to finally get it off my neck and end all of this.

I kept talking to Erza as we ate our breakfast, finally shifting to lighter topics. It wasn't long before the rest of the gang showed up and I cooked another batch of breakfast for them. They were halfway through their meal when I excused myself to take a bath. It was almost time to meet with Axel and I didn't want to be late. I took one last look at myself in the mirror, grabbed my keys and went back to my friends.

"Why are you dressed up?" asked Natsu.

"I'm meeting up with Axel," I answered, distracted as I straightened my dress.

"Axel?"

"Yeah," I answered, not looking up at Gray, as I was still trying to fix a wrinkle. "I promised to tour him around Magnolia."

"Are you sure it's a good idea, Lucy?" asked Happy.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Uh, maybe because you're currently the most sought out girl in Magnolia since that necklace won't stop seducing all the men around you?" Happy said it like I was so stupid for not even thinking it.

"And I don't trust this guy," Gray remarked. "What if he's one of those-

"He's not," I said, cutting him off. "He's not "in love" with me. We made sure of that yesterday when he came to the guild. He's very kind and I assure you that he only wanted someone to show him around town."

"And why does that have to be you?"

I faced Gray, crossing my arms. "Why couldn't it be me?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, looking into my eyes. "Because you're wearing a necklace that practically makes men fall in love with you. Wouldn't that make your date difficult? He'd be competing for your attention against all the men in Magnolia."

"Gray has a point, Lucy," Erza said.

"Of course I do." He said it coolly. "That's why she's not going."

"What?" I stared disbelievingly at him. "But he would wait for me. I couldn't just-

"Natsu will meet him, make up some excuse why you can't go. Problem solved." Gray sat down on the couch. It was obvious he was already fixed on that decision.

"Wait." I walked over to Gray. "What if I take him to places where I know there'd be less people around? And if we do attract some attention, then we'll just leave?"

That was a stupid and lame-ass plan which I was very much aware of. But I wanted to go with Axel and tour around Magnolia. I had been so stressed out these past few days and an opportunity to walk around with a new friend was too tempting that I couldn't just ignore it.

And fine, maybe there's some part of me that was a little bit interested to learn more about Axel. He was leaving soon anyway. It was not like I would really be going out with him.

Gray stared at me and I made sure that I conveyed that I was serious about this. He turned away from me as he leaned back. "If I was the one you're dating, I will find this first date terrible."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm not dating you then." He was silent, so I sat down beside him. "I know you're worried and I understand. But I promise I'll be careful. Please?"

He glanced at me. "Why don't you ask them if they're willing to let you go?"

I turned to the rest of my friends. "I know I'm asking a lot and I'm taking a huge risk here, but can I please go?"

It felt like I was asking permission from my parents to go out with a boy. It was kind of funny, but I knew that if these guys didn't give me their approval, then that over-protective ice mage would never agree to let me go.

"It's your decision, Lucy," Erza said. "And I know you can take care of yourself so I'm not really worried."

"Well, Axel seemed like a nice guy when we met him yesterday." Happy turned to Natsu who gave him a nod. "I guess there's really nothing else to say but to enjoy your date?"

I smiled at them, feeling relieved, before finally turning to Gray. "Please?"

"Why does it matter what I say?" He still had his eyes away from me. "They all agreed already."

I frowned. "I know, but I wanted to hear you say that you're okay with this. You're my friend and it matters to me what you think."

He finally faced me and I did a double-take when I saw the expression in his eyes. Was I seeing things? Or did his eyes seem dejected?

His lips curved into a smirk. "No need to pull the friendship card on me, Lucy." He reached out and smoothed a wrinkle on my collar. Our eyes met again and my throat constricted. His eyes were dull, and it was painful to look at. He took his hand back. "This dress brings out your eyes. I'm sure Axel would find it beautiful."

"Y-you really think so?"

He stood up and patted my head. "Have fun on your date."

That was it, right? He told me to have fun, so I guess that was his way of agreeing to this. I should be relieved, but I wasn't. It didn't help that I saw that expression written on his eyes. I couldn't even tell exactly what that was.

But why am I bothered so much, anyway?

Right, it was because of that.

It was because he told me to have fun.

He didn't tell me that he was okay with it.

GRAY'S POV:

"Was that really okay?' Natsu asked me. We were on our way to the guild.

"What are you talking about?" I kept my eyes on the road. "I know she's been troubled about that necklace so the only thing we can do is let her unwind for now."

"You're right," Natsu said. "But you weren't okay with her going out with that guy."

That made me stop for a moment, before I thought better of it. "She's my friend. I will never be okay with her going out with some guy I don't know."

Natsu let out a huffed. "Alright, that's what you said."

We were silent as we continued our walk which only made me think about Lucy. It was true that I was worried about her. And who wouldn't given her situation right now? I knew she needed time to enjoy herself, but why does it have to be with that guy? She barely knew him and yet she willingly agreed to tour him around Magnolia. Her kindness to strangers was starting to piss the hell out of me. Really, why did she have to be so nice?

"Troublesome," I whispered, trying hard to ignore the gnawing feeling in my chest, thinking that between the two of us, why was I the one more troubled?

--

Aaand done! What did you guys think about Gray's POV? I wanted to explore his thoughts and came up with this. I hope I didn't overdo it. Lol

See you in the next chapter!