Chapter 2: The Reasons of the heart
It was like watching a movie in slow motion.
Gray saw Juvia wobbling at the edge of the stairs and then starting to fall. Fortunately, he was right behind her and he caught her before her face hit the ground. He turned her head toward him and search for any injury, but beside her unconsciousness she was not harm. The second after, all their friends gathered around them.
"Is she okay?" Erza asked genuinely concerned.
"She's unconscious."
"I have alcohol." Cana raised a bottle of whiskey.
Erza send her a reproachful glare. "I don't think she needs it. It's not good for her right now."
"Why? They use alcohol to wake up someone after an avalanche. I saw it in a movie."
"You shouldn't believe all you see in movies." Erza stated and Cana shrugged and for good measure took a gulp of her bottle. The red haired sighed and looked down to her unconscious friend. "Take her to the infirmary Gray. I'll pick up her things and catch up with you."
Gray was already standing up and he accommodated Juvia's position not to hurt her as he went down the stairs with prudence but as quickly as he could.
He was angry with himself. He had seen that she wasn't feeling well but he had said nothing. She could have broken her neck if she had fallen down the stairs.
He knocked on the infirmary door with his foot, a bit too harshly because a sharp voice yelled from the other side.
"Stop it, idiot human! Don't break the door!"
Then Doctor Porlyusica opened and narrowed her eyes at the sight.
"What have you done to this girl?"
"Nothing!" Gray replied offended. "She fainted!"
"Well, I understand. Any innocent girl would faint if you flash your naked butt in front of her." Porlyusica stated as she looked down.
"What?" Gray also looked down and hissed a curse. At one moment while he was carrying Juvia, he had stripped naked except for his boxer. Dammit! How did he do it? His both hands had been full! "She didn't faint because of me! She's probably sick!"
The old woman scrutinized him for a moment before she let him enter the infirmary and he gently laid Juvia on a bed. Then Porlyusica took Juvia's pulse and check her breathing and her eyes as she lifted her upper eyelids.
Gray was going to ask if Juvia would be okay when Erza followed by Levy and Lucy – who had probably been texted by the girls as the two didn't have mathematics – barged into the infirmary.
"How is Juvia? Did she wake up?"
"Quiet humans!" Porlyusica glared at them before she proceeded with her examination. "You can all relax. She's going to wake up soon." She said after a while.
The doctor was right, a moment later Juvia's lids fluttered and she made some movements.
"Juvia!" Lucy called and grabbed Juvia's hand. "We were so worried! How do you feel?"
Incomprehension passed on Juvia's face as she looked at Lucy, then her gaze went to Porlyusica, Levy and Erza. When her eyes fell on Gray, they widened a little. Quickly she looked back at Lucy.
"Juvia's fine." She whispered with a hoarse voice and she coughed. "Can I have water?"
"Here." Porluysica handed her a glass she had prepared with water and a sugar cube. She waited for Juvia to finish drinking before asking. "Are you under big stress lately?"
Juvia hesitated with the question. She couldn't tell the real reason of her stress with Gray and the others in the room.
"We have exams in a few days…" She answered vaguely, hoping it would be enough. But the old woman had more questions.
"Did you eat this morning?"
Her patient glanced at her and looked down with guilt. "No." She breathed.
"And yesterday?"
Juvia bit her lip. "Just breakfast."
The others girls made disapproval sounds at her words but another glare of Porlyusica shut them quiet.
"You fainted because of stress and hypoglycemia. Go home, eat something and sleep. You can resume your activities and revisions tomorrow. But today you rest."
"But Juvia can't do that!" Juvia panicked. "She has classes and her job and…!"
"Stupid human." Porlyusica growled. "If you want to push yourself to exhaustion, it's fine with me! But don't complain later! If you don't rest, next time it could be worse than a faint!"
Juvia lowered her head. She was so silly. Since the previous day, she was so depressed and hurt, she had skipped dinner and breakfast and now her reckless behavior put her health in danger and jeopardized her studies. Worst of all, she was scolded like a child in front of Gray. Could she make a fool of herself even more? She sighed and surrendered.
"Okay. Juvia's going home." She said with a low voice and moved her legs to sit at the edge of the bed. Immediately the girls proposed to help her. But she got up by her own, and even if her legs were still weak, she took some steps to prove them she was fine. She still had some pride and didn't want to burden them even more.
"Thank you, Erza-san, for bringing Juvia's belongings. She'll take them back now." Juvia raised her hand toward the strap of her bag on Erza's shoulder.
But Erza was more stubborn than her.
"I'm coming with you." She said as she moved out of Juvia's reach. "You haven't fully recovered yet. And your bag is a bit heavy." Her voice was soft but her expression was firm.
Juvia didn't want to fight so she nodded and waved goodbye at her other friends. She met Gray's eyes briefly but couldn't decipher his look. What did he think of her?
Probably that you're stupid. A voice said in her head and her heart gave a hurtful squeeze. If she still had had a tiny hope even with what she heard the day before, now it was completely crashed.
The two women walked to the dorms in silence. Juvia was grateful to Erza for walking her home without asking questions or giving reprimands. Silence reigned inside the house as all the girls had left the dormitory for their classes and other activities and Juvia sighed in relief. She was too tired to explain her early return.
Erza led her to the kitchen. "I'll make tea."
Juvia nodded and sat at the little table.
"So…" The red-haired woman began as she poured water in the kettle. "Care to explain the real reason?"
Juvia's eyes widened. "Ano… Juvia doesn't…"
But Erza interrupted her. "I know how your studies are important to you but I'm sure that's not the reason of your weakness."
Juvia stayed quiet and bowed her head in shame, her eyes on her laps.
"It's Gray right? You didn't even spare a glance at him. Did you notice he was almost naked in the infirmary?" A blush spread on Juvia's cheeks. Ah, she should have known she could not fool the great Titania. "What did that idiot do?"
"Nothing." She finally answered. "It's all because of Juvia."
Erza opened a cupboard and picked out some biscuits she placed in front of Juvia. She waited patiently for the blunette to share her story. The said woman took a little bite of a biscuit and as she felt the sweet taste fill her mouth, her eyes watered and she hold back a sob.
"Yesterday…. I was studying in the library and I heard Natsu-san, Loke-san, Jellal-san and… Gray-sama." Her throat felt sore and she took a sip of the tea before continuing. Erza listened silently, frowning a little when Juvia reported Gray's words.
"Juvia was selfish." Juvia concluded. "She didn't take Gray-sama's feelings in consideration and now he hates her."
"That's nonsense."
The blue haired woman looked at her friend, confused.
"You're jumping to conclusion, Juvia. Gray doesn't hate you."
"But…"
"Listen. I know Gray since we're kids. He is not an open-up person and he can say harsh thing he doesn't really mean. It hurt you and you made a decision too fast under pain and sadness. Your mind chose to put distance between you and Gray but your heart can't give up so easily. So, you were torn between your mind and your heart. That inside battle, plus the sorrow, it exhausted you."
Juvia sipped her tea pondering Erza's words.
"But… Gray-sama said Juvia annoyed him."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he hates you. You're just too… overwhelming with your love demonstrations and he didn't know how to react."
"But Juvia doesn't know how to express her feelings another way. They're too strong for Juvia's body."
"Precisely. Your love is strong. You can't turn it off just because of silly words. I admire you because you never give up. You're a warrior. It's not like you to renounce when you collided with an obstacle."
Juvia turned ten shades of red. Erza, the Great Erza, was admiring her?
"So, what Juvia should do then?" She asked, still a bit perplexed.
"Right now, you sleep and rest. After that, you lower the love showing and the fangirling. I'm not saying you have to stop completely. But you can restrict the proofs of affection to one or two a day for example. And after a while, I'm sure Gray will be more open to you. Some men need times to accept their feelings."
Juvia nodded pensively.
"That's how you proceed with Jellal-san?"
"Ehhh?!" Erza exhaled as her face turned as crimson as her hair. "I… That's not… Jellal…. You should go to bed now." She commanded as she grabbed Juvia's arm and pull her toward her room.
#
Juvia woke up in the late afternoon. She rubbed her eyes and stirred with a moan. She felt refreshed and the pain wasn't oppressing like the morning. She could think clearer and decided to follow Erza's advices for some time. If she did not make progress or if Gray rejected her, she would stop definitively and try to move on. But Erza was certain there was hope and Juvia was going to hold on that small sunray.
So, from this moment, she would be Juvia 2.0.
She was appeased now and even felt hungry. She went to the kitchen, bemused by the unusual silence inside the house. She hesitated a bit in front of the fridge. A soup would be better for her stomach, but she felt still too tired to cut vegetables and opted for pasta instead.
She had eaten half of her plate when she heard the front door opening followed but the voices of her friends. And a second later, Erza and Levy entered the kitchen.
"Oh, you're awake!" The red haired said. "Do you feel better?"
Juvia nodded with a smile which Erza returned.
"And don't worry about your job. I called Yajima and explained the situation. He was very comprehensive."
"Thanks a lot, Erza-san."
"Everyone was worried." Levy added. "The girls are in the living room. We plan a movie night, with pizzas, cakes and all."
"This is really sweet but you don't have to do this for Juvia."
But the short blue haired dismissed her protests with a hand. "We all need a break in our revisions. Evergreen is even here."
"Really?" Evergreen wasn't known to hang out with the girls, she spent most of her time with Freed, Bickslow and Laxus. Her presence meant a lot.
The three women joined the living room where all the other girls were debating which movie should be watch first. When they spotted Juvia, they surrounded her with hugs and embraces. Cana handed her a beer but Erza snaffled it with a glare. After that, a phone in her hand, Mirajane asked about the pizzas choice. As her friends bickered about the food, Juvia felt her own phone vibrate. She stepped out of the group of chatting girls to answer.
"Hello Gajeel-kun." She heard a deep sigh.
"Hey, Raindrop." He greeted her and by the use of the nickname, she immediately knew he was also concerned about her being. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Gajeel-kun. Juvia is sorry for all the trouble."
"Yeah, well, you should stop the falling thing. Stripper won't be always there to catch you."
Her heart beat harder. It was Gray-sama who caught her?
"Do you need something?" Gajeel asked. "I can be at your place in ten minutes."
"You're a sweetie, Gajeel-kun." Juvia said with a deliberate flattering tone, earning a groan at the other end. "But the girls are all there to take care of Juvia. You can pass the bother to them."
"You're not a bother." He retorted and sighed again. "Okay then, see you tomorrow?"
"Of course, Gajeel-kun. Good night."
"'Night Sprinkler."
Gajeel hung up and returned in the cafeteria, where the boys were drinking coffee, except Natsu who was eating up a giant sandwich.
"She's okay." He said while looking at Gray who visibly relaxed with the words.
"That's a relief." Jellal commented getting a glance from Gray.
"Did Erza tell you something?"
"Nothing." The blue haired man answered surprised. "Why?"
Loke stopped ogling a brunette at a near table to smirk at his friend.
"Because our Gray is caring-not caring about his damsel in distress."
"She is not… I'm not…" Gray stuttered as his ears reddened. "I just think it's not like her. Sure, she's serious about her studies. But to forget to eat…" He shook his head.
"How can you forget to eat?" Natsu asked bewildered.
"Not everyone thinks with their stomach, Fire breath." Gray sighed.
"What's that mean, iceprick?" The pink haired roared.
"Exactly what you think, Flamehead!"
And the fight began.
End of the chapter
AN: So, now the stage is set and the slow development can start ^^
Erza and Juvia talk is a reference of the 413 days chapter. I plan to include other references in the future chapters (probably not in the same order as the manga).
Hope you still like the story! I'm not used with Erza character, so please tell me what you think!
Thanks to all who read, followed and favorited the previous chapters and a special thanks to the people who let a review! You really bring me motivation to continue this story!
I'm going to answer some points:
Martygruvialover: I do plan a conversation between Juvia and Gray about the eavesdropping, but there will be many chapters before that 😉 So you need to be patient ah ah! I hope you'll enjoy that story nonetheless. And for the happy ending… Well… I'm not telling, but if you judge by my other stories, you may know. Thank you again for the review.
Guest: Thank you for the review! I'm sorry, but Juvia won't let go the "sama". I'm part of the "Gray-sama" team and I can't see her calling him just "Gray" (Except in a very intimate and heated moment, if you know what I mean he he). But she's going to talk in first person from time to time.