Chapter 1: Falling

The exams of mid semester were coming and the atmosphere of the University was very studious despite the call of the first days of spring. As Juvia had only one class early in the morning and she did not work at the bakery that day, she had decided to pass all her free time at the library. A lot of students had the same idea and the place was quite full.

She settled down in a quiet area and opened the first book she needed to complete her notes of climatology. Soon she was absorbed by her studying and she did not paid attention at her surroundings. When it was around lunch time, she heard people leaving the library but she kept studying. She had a healthy breakfast that morning as she planned to spend the day in there, without lunch, opting for a big dinner instead. Her stomach emitted a growl at the thought and she focused on her notes to push it away.

She took a quick nap in the middle of the afternoon, her head resting on her arms. When her posture became uncomfortable, she woke up and rubbed her sore neck before resuming with chemistry. But after an hour, she realized she forgot to pick the book about analytical chemistry. She stood up and made her way to the bookshelves.

Juvia scanned the selves, looking for the needed book. Then she spotted some spiky pink hair passing by the corner of her eyes. Her heart lifted up. Where Natsu was, Gray-sama was not far!

Happy to greet him one more time - maybe she would have the nerve to ask if she could join them in their revisions - she followed the aisle to its end but stop before when she heard Jellal.

"Next month, it's the great ball post-exams. Do you already know with who you're going?"

Oh, that's interesting! Juvia thought as she tried to eavesdrop.

"Dude, we have time!" Natsu complained. "We have exams in two weeks first. I can't think this far!"

Loke chuckled. "As if it was a big deal for you. You're going with Lucy as always. In fact, you all have your girls already. I'm the only one who's going through trouble to get a girl."

Gray snorted. "Yeah. I believe you. Big trouble. And I agree for Jellal, we all know who he's going to ask, but why me?"

"C'mon." Loke replied. "You have this pretty blue haired girl who's in adoration with you since her eyes fell on you."

Great job Loke-san!

But…

"Oh, please, can I have a break?" Gray whined. "Juvia's not mean but she seems to be consistently around me. She's so clingy. I can't turn my head without meeting her. She follows me all the time saying nonsense about getting married and all. It's weird. Couldn't she give it a rest for once?"

Her breath was caught in her throat and she clutched her hands on her chest to stop her trembling.

"That's a bit harsh." Jellal said. "She's nice and friendly. And she's always so happy to see you."

"I know, but can I have some free time to myself? Do something that boys of my age do without her being all on me or glaring daggers at any girl who talks with me? She has to learn that she shouldn't be continuously on my heels. It ticks me off."

After this, Juvia wasn't able to hear more as her blood was drumming in her ears.

She returned to her seat and gathered her things. Her mind was blank. She mechanically put back the books she used on a trolley and rushed outside of the library.

She walked fast through the campus to the girls' dormitory, passing by some of her friends, waving at them with a fake smile but she didn't stop to talk as she felt herself on the verge of tears. Once in her room, Juvia flung her bag somewhere and sat abruptly on her bed, staring at the wall with vacant eyes.

He hated her.

She held back a sob.

Juvia had thought she was getting closer to him, learning about him, sharing friendly moments with their group of friends. She was so wrong! She was annoying him so much he wanted her away.

She lied on her side, hiding her head in her hands, tears finally escaping her lids.

Why did he not say it? She would have stopped!

Or maybe he had said it and she hadn't wanted to hear it…

That a foolish girl. Thinking she could made Gray love her.

Her ex-boyfriend had said it. She was too gloomy, too clingy, boring, prudish and silly. No one would want her.

Juvia was now curled up on her bed, her body shaking with each sob. She was still crying when she received a text from Lucy. With her vision blurred by the tears, she reached for her bag and grabbed her phone. Lucy knew Juvia wasn't working today and was asking if Juvia wanted to join her, Erza and Cana for diner.

Juvia bit her lip. She needed some friends to lift her mood, but she was a mess right now and felt too sore to move. Plus they might fall on Gray and the others. It would be too humiliating!

She felt more tears running their way on her cheeks. They probably all think she was a fool pursuing Gray like this. Maybe they were making fun of her when she wasn't around. It wouldn't be new. So many people did it by the past. But she couldn't stand it right now.

She tapped her response, declining the invitation with a lot of excuses. She added a smiley at the end of her text, hiding her state of mind. Then she grabbed her pillow and muffled her cries into it.

After a while, when the tears stopped, her head was throbbing, her throat was irritated, her nose stuffy. She quickly went to her bathroom to drink water to ease her throat but she avoided the mirror. Back in her bed, she wrapped herself in her covers, some tears occasionally running down, but exhausted, she finally fell asleep. It was not a restful sleep as she had nightmares through the night and cried from times to times before she plunged once more into slumber.

When she woke up the next morning, she still felt sore with a heavy head and parts of her body aching. She remained in her bed, looking at nothing, wondering if she had the strength to go in classes and face Gray, considering that her day began with mathematics which was a joint course.

She didn't want to see him; just imagining it, her throat constricted and she felt as if someone was punching her in the stomach. But on the other hand, she didn't want to lose her year, she still had exams coming. After all, her purpose with joining Fairy Tail University, beside made Gray love her, was becoming a meteorologist.

She wasn't the first girl with a heartbreak and will not be the last. It shouldn't make her forget her career goal. It will be hard and painful but she had to succeed her studies or else she would regret it.

She made up her mind and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower. The warm water calmed her nerves a bit, even if she still felt a weight inside her and tears threatening to come. She glanced at the clock. With her hesitations and the time she had spent into the shower, she was late. She didn't have time to put on make-up or do her hair. Juvia looked in the mirror and sighed. As if it would change something anyway… There was no one to make herself pretty.

She rapidly dried and brushed her hair, letting it fall naturally on her shoulders. She dressed, grabbed her bag and rushed down the stairs.

"Hey, good morning Juvia!" Kinanna greeted her from the kitchen. "There are toasts if you want."

"Sorry Kinanna-san. Juvia's late!" She apologized. Her stomach was too knotted to eat anyway.

She was outside before her friend could say something else and she raced to the building where her first class of the day was held.

She stopped when she entered the auditorium as she spotted Gray and the others in the middle rows. They were at their usual places and the only vacant seat was at Gray's left, where she ordinarily sat. She gulped. On her way, she had avoided thinking about him but now she had to confront her fears.

She tried to act as normal as she could and took the seat nonchalantly, her heart beating so fast in her chest she feared everyone could hear it.

"Good morning Juvia." Erza said beside Gray and they all turned their head to greet her.

She nodded and managed to lift her lips in a small smile but she adverted her eyes from Gray's face. She didn't want to see his bothered expression.

However she wasn't able to listen to the professor as she was too conscious of Gray's proximity. She avoided any contact of their elbows or their knees. She stayed quiet in fear to say something that could irritate him. She tried her best to go unnoticed and make him forget her presence.

She's strange today, Gray thought as he glanced at her once more.

Her eyes were a bit red and puffy, with dark circles under them. She was supporting her head with one hand as if its weight was too loud for her neck. And he wasn't sure but she seemed paler than usual.

What was undeniable was her unusual silence. Habitually, even if she wasn't babbling nonsense during class, she was often talking to Gray about how it was incredible that the world could be summarized with mathematical formulas or if he had heard about this theorem before. But today she said absolutely nothing and her face was tense as if she contained some inside pain. And what she had written was not even the half of the teacher's explanation.

Was she sick? If then, she shouldn't have gone to class. Or maybe it was because she was afraid that a girl would take her place beside him?

Gray tssked in his head. He hoped she wasn't that silly that she put her crazy crush on him above her health.

Well, it was her decision. She had to assume the consequence.

He decided to concentrate on the lesson and take notes as clear as possible to pass it to Juvia later. It would be a payback for all the times when he caught up with the aid of her notes.

The class ended and like the others, Gray gathered his belongings. But he noticed that Juvia wasn't moving. She was too focused not to act weirdly that she had not noticed the end of the class.

"Hey." Gray touched her shoulder and she jumped and moved away as if his hand had burned her. He arched a brow. Why was she acting so oddly? Well, more than usual.

Juvia was aware that the class was over then, and she rashly put her things into her bag.

"Are you okay?" He asked, getting worried with her behavior.

She answered with a nod, looking down. She got up hastily and she walked away to go down the stairs. But after three steps, she started to see black spots and felt her legs becoming weak. Her head was spinning. She heard Cana saying her name in a warning tone before she passed out.

Her bag tumbled loudly over the steps, sheets of paper flying out and landing down the stairs.

End of the chapter

AN: Aaaand a cliffhanger! ;)

I don't remember Gray saying straightly he's annoyed by Juvia's behavior or something similar, beside the GMG Ball scene. And with the chapter 57 of 100 YQ (the Gruvia feels!) last week, I definitely can't see Gray being like this, but for the plot of this story, I needed it.

Huh... Apparently, by strange coincidence, some fanfictions, with the idea of Juvia ignoring Gray, were updated these previous days. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag but just for clarification, this is not a "Juvia ignores Gray and he realizes he is in love with her" story. It will be more understandable with the next chapter. I'll try to update next month or sooner if I can, but no promise.

Please let me know what you think. Any constructive criticism is welcome!

And if you have found some mistakes, tell me, I'll correct them. English is not my native language.