DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail and its characters are owned by Hiro Mashima.I am merely an aspiring writer who has a deep love for this anime!

CHAPTER 3:

Fairy Tail was still loud and rowdy when I came to the guild the next day. But it was normal for us. I'd be worried if the guild suddenly became a haven of peace and quiet.

I made my way to the bar and ordered a strawberry shake from Mira. I unconsciously reached up my neck and felt the familiar warmth of the necklace. I've been so paranoid last night that I took it with me when I had my bath and wore it again when I went to bed. I felt an incredible sense of relief when I woke up and felt for it, finding it around my neck. I decided to only take it off when I have my baths and then would wear it for the rest of my day.

Erza insisted on coming home with me last night to guard the jewel. But I knew she was tired, we all were, and we would be able to protect the necklace better if we were rested. I took responsibility of watching the necklace for the night and thankfully, it was still with me.

"One glass of ice, Mira," Gray requested as he took a seat beside me. "So, any news about the necklace?"

"Nothing, and I didn't have any incidents last night," I answered.

Mira placed a tall glass filled with ice cubes in front of Gray. "That's a pretty necklace, Lucy. It looks good on you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mira. But it's not mine. We're keeping it for a client."

"I see, well you'd better hold on to it tight," Mira said before excusing herself to us to attend to a customer.

I turned to Gray. "Where are Erza and Natsu?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. I went to your apartment but figured you were already in the guild when I found it empty."

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"It's my turn to guard the necklace, so I'm going to be stuck with you for the whole day." He said it like it was the most boring thing to do in the entire world and he'd rather be sleeping.

"Don't give me that, and we both know you like hanging out with me."

"Really? What gave it away?"

I gave him a playful punch. "Anyway, I only plan to go to the bookstore today and then buy some food before going home."

"The bookstore, huh?" I could swear I saw his expression softened, but paid no heed to it as he flashed me his usual nonchalance. "Alright, give me a tap when you're ready to go," he said before downing his ice cubes.

"We can go now if you–

I stopped and felt something burning on my skin. I touched the necklace and, indeed, it was getting warm.

"What is it?" Gray asked.

I didn't answer him as I kept my eyes on the necklace. A few seconds passed before the heat subsided and it was back to its usual, cool, metallic temperature.

I faced Gray, giving him a smile. "Nothing."

I knew he wasn't convinced by that, but he didn't push it as he stood up. "Come on, let's go get your book."

I followed him out of the guild and soon we were walking side by side as we made our way to my favorite bookstore here in Magnolia. Only a few people go there which was why I liked it in the first place. And the people working there give great book recommendations.

"What was that back there?"

I glanced at Gray. Well, it seemed he wasn't letting it go that easy.

"It was nothing. I thought the necklace got hot for a while there, but I feel fine if that's what you're really asking me."

He nodded and didn't say anything more. Sometimes I do wonder what it would be like if I could know what's going on in his mind. He's a difficult person to read. And I know he secretly enjoys that I could never figure him out.

We continued walking in silence, ignoring the people glancing in our direction as we passed. And I certainly didn't pay any mind to the men, openly and completely staring at the both of us.

Wait, what?

I looked around and most of the men had their eyes on us. I turned around, making sure that there were other people walking, other than me and Gray and I was completely being paranoid and crazy for thinking that they were staring at us.

"Please tell me I'm losing my mind for thinking that a lot of these men are staring at us," I said to Gray when I turned back.

"You're not," Gray answered. "They are looking at us."

"They're not thieves, are they?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"No, I recognize these people. They're ordinary citizens of Magnolia."

"But why-

"Hey you." Gray pointed to a man sitting on a nearby bench.

We walked closer to him, making his already red face redder, and to cause him to even be more nervous than he already was.

"Why are you staring at us?" Gray asked.

The man swallowed before speaking. "I-I-I'm incredibly sorry, so sorry…

"Yeah, we don't need your apology. Just tell me why you're looking at us," Gray insisted, clenching his fist. The man was shaking now and he looked like he was about to pass out.

"You don't have to intimidate him, you know?" I turned to the man. "I'm sorry about my friend. We were just wondering why you seem to be staring at us. Do you need any help or something?"

The man breathes out in relief before smiling at me. "You're really pretty."

My eyes widened as I turned to Gray who was frowning.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "Umm, thanks but…

The man suddenly grabbed my hand. "Do you have a boyfriend? Because if you don't I promise I will-

Gray pushed the guy away as he stepped closer, blocking me from the guy's view.

"Listen here, pal." Gray's voice was low and holds a considerable amount of anger. "I asked you a question and I expect for you to answer me, not to take advantage of my friend. I was being patient with you before but now I guess I have to-

"I'm telling the truth!" The man said, almost pleading. "I was only staring because of her." He turned to me again. "You're really pretty, miss."

Okay, so he thinks I'm pretty? That was why he was staring at us? Because I'm pretty?

"I don't mean any harm," the man continued. "But would you consider going out with me sometime?"

He was smiling at me. His eyes hopeful and twinkling with the expression of someone who was…I refused to admit that he was looking at me like I was the girl of his dreams. This guy probably didn't even know me.

"Hey, what about me?"

We turned to that new voice and saw another man walking towards us.

He stopped and looked at me. "It would make me the happiest man if you would agree to go out with me."

"Me too," piped another one. "Please go out with me."

I was confused and suddenly very uncomfortable. It was great to have guys asking me out, but this is not the way that I wanted it to happen. Not with multiple men asking me out all at once. And they were strangers!

I didn't even know how it happened but we were suddenly surrounded by seven men who were still adamant about taking me out on a date.

I looked at Gray and he had his eyes down. I touched his arm to get his attention. He flinched before turning to me, his eyes clouded with annoyance and barely concealed rage. Yup, he had had enough of this nonsense too.

"Listen here, you punks." He stepped forward, creating a small space between us and the men. "She's clearly not interested so get lost."

"Are you her boyfriend?" one of the men asked.

I could see Gray stiffen, his ears becoming red. "N-no but-

"Then you have no right to tell us to get lost. Come on, let us talk to her."

"Yeah, you get lost and let us ask her out!"

Gray was clenching his fist now and I knew I had to intervene before this gets out of hand. The men were getting rowdy and impatient. I knew Gray was good at holding his temper but I also knew he gets fiercely protective towards his friends.

"Alright, everyone shut up!"

All of them turned to me. I felt self-conscious all of a sudden, with all these eyes looking at me expectantly. I didn't even know what I was going to say to them. I just wanted to do something to control the situation before Gray loses his mind and uses his magic to these civilians.

I took a deep breath to calm myself before speaking. "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in dating anyone right now. I'm sure you are all great people, and it would probably be nice to spend some time with you, but I'm afraid I'm just too busy with my job."

They didn't say anything and I took that as my cue to pull Gray out of there and to continue on our way. The men parted giving us space to pass through. I was about to let out an incredible sigh of relief when one of them called us. I stopped and turned around.

"So, if you're not busy with your job, would it be okay to take you out then?"

I didn't get to answer that as I felt Gray's hand on my wrist, pulling me with him as we ran. I heard the men following behind us, which prompted Gray to run faster. We finally found an abandoned alley and hid behind the boxes of crates, making sure the men were gone before going out.

"What was that?" Gray asked. His breath was racing.

I wiped the sweat in my forehead. "I have no idea. But it was the most uncomfortable moment of my life so far."

He smirked. "I thought it was funny."

I frowned. "Shut up. That wasn't fun for me." I narrowed my eyes at him. "And don't you dare act so nonchalant when you were the one losing your cool back there."

He raised his eyebrows. "I was losing my cool?"

"Yup, I mean if I didn't intervene you would have probably blasted them with your ice mag-

I didn't get to finish as Gray covered my mouth with his hand, feeling the rough walls of the alley on my back as he pushed me against it. His other hand was resting on my waist, his eyes directed towards the entryway of the alley. I could hear voices, but my worry didn't last long as they disappeared.

I turned my eyes to Gray and I didn't know why my heart started to pound. There was a knot forming in my stomach and it was tightening as the seconds ticked by. My cheeks flushed at our proximity. His hand feels cool around my mouth and the one on my waist made me shiver, which made Gray turn to me.

Strange, we've been friends for a long time now but this is the first time that I've seen his face this close. I never knew just how dark his eyes were, or that there was a small scar under his left eyebrow. I found myself reaching towards his face, to that particular scar.

I felt like I was woken from a dream when Gray grabbed my hand, setting it down. "What?"

I blinked, willing my racing heart to slow down as I mustered a smile to erase whatever it was that just happened. "Nothing, I thought there was dust on your face."

He furrowed his eyebrows as he wiped off the imaginary dust that I just lied about. I finally stepped away from him, finding that it was a lot easier to breathe now.

"I think we should just go back to the guild," I suggested.

He nodded. "Let's wait for Erza and Natsu. I'm sure they'll want to know about what happened here."

"Do you think it had anything to do with the necklace?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but there's no harm in considering it," he answered. He finally turned to me, the mischievousness back in his eyes. "I'm sure they'll find this hilarious."

I gave him a punch in the arm, which he dodged as he laughed. I felt relieved after that. And I didn't even know why I was nervous in the first place.

We headed for the guild, with him still teasing me and I, falling for it. This was the dynamic between me and Gray. And I would hate it if anything would happen that would change that.

And that was done! That chapter took longer than I already planned, but I guess it turned out to be much better.See you in the next chapter!