Juvia leaned her head against the window, watching the streets they were driving down. She still hadn't shaken the sleep off completely and she knew that she would fall asleep the moment her head hit her pillow.

The silence that was surrounding her wasn't helping her case. Gray had his eyes focused on the road and didn't utter a word yet. For some reason she enjoyed the silence this time. There wasn't really much she could talk to him about anyways. She glanced at him before continuing looking out the window.

Juvia didn't forget that he had been avoiding her all day. And she had yet to find out why. His actions had hurt her, Juvia didn't take being ignored lightly. Call it a childhood scare but being ignored, acting like she was invisible, it left her in a state of insecurity and pain. And Gray had done just that. For what reason, she had no clue. But if that was his thanks for her effort with the dinner, than she sure wasn't going to invite him again anytime soon. So for once she decided that she wouldn't make the first move and keep the silence going until he broke it himself. If he didn't want to talk, then they wouldn't talk. It wasn't in her nature at all, Juvia was usually one to push the buttons and testing limits, but not this time. She had to be strong and act nonchalant, even if she was being anything but that on the inside. Juvia didn't like doing that but she remembered the conversation she had with her best friend after Gray had left her place so abruptly. Gajeel had made a point.

"He seems nice, even I'll admit that. And I'm sure he will never be anything like him. But you still have to be careful and not let your guard down too soon. I know you like to do that. But let's face it Juvia, not everyone is so openhearted like you and presents their emotions on a plate. And Gray, he actually appears to be the total opposite. The guy doesn't do this whole feelings and emotions crap you're always surrounded with. I know you like him, maybe even more than you like to admit. But you can't just let all your walls down because the guy is being a decent human and actually acting nice towards you. Don't forget your self worth, no matter how much you like that dude. You can't give him everything if he doesn't make any effort to give something back. You know how it ended the last time."

Yes, she knows. Although she wished she could forget. But that's not how it worked. Ugly memories would always haunt her. Gajeel hadn't been so serious and honest with her in a while. But she knew it was necessary. After all, he was the one who had to pick her up and deal with all her broken pieces after the whole thing. She was a mess and if it wasn't for her best friend she would probably still be. But he had done so much for her, picked her up, made her strong and even moved away to Magnolia with her, when she had decided that she needed to get away and start over, leaving behind his life in Oak Town as well. She would forever be grateful to him and the least she could do was take his advice to heart. After all she knew that he only had the best for her in mind.

Juvia sighed, trying to shake the thoughts away. Her she was again, overthinking and letting the past haunt her. She closed her eyes, trying to let sleep take over again until they arrived. It was easier than dealing with the mess she always found herself in.

"Are you okay?"

In the corner of his eye, Gray had seen Juvia switching between looking out the window and trying to sleep. Despite telling himself that he wouldn't care, he found himself wondering what it was that was bothering the pretty girl in his passenger seat so much.

She obviously wasn't expecting his question because it took her a moment to register that he had actually asked her something and another moment for her to form an answer. She kept her head leaned against the window, but didn't close her eyes, appearing to have decided against sleep after all.

"Yeah.. I'm fine.

" She didn't seem to intend to add anymore to her reply and Gray decided not to push it. If she didn't want to talk about it, then he wouldn't force her too. It wasn't his place to do so after all. The silence however, was driving him crazy. So he opted for another conversation.

"How do you like the company so far? It's been a few months so I'm sure you could form a clearer opinion by now. After all your time of probation is over soon, so I think that's something we should talk about."

Gray figured that work was a safe topic. He was her boss after all. And it wasn't a lie either. The probation would soon be over and she would have to make a decision whether she wants to go back to her old firm or stay with them. The choice was up to her because for him the decision was clear. She was messing with his head and making him question a lot of things and that

was bad. He could easily tell her that they wouldn't keep her and this whole mess would be over. She would leave and he wouldn't have to see her everyday. But for some reason, he didn't like that at all.

For one, she was a really good employee. It would be stupid to fire her, just because he wasn't able to control the stupid mess of emotions inside him. And two, he would hate not seeing her anymore. She hadn't been in his life for long, but Gray couldn't see himself walking into the office and not be greeted by her angelic smile. Angelic? What the hell was he thinking again? He really needed to get a grip on himself. Shaking the thought away, he put his focus on what the blunette next to him had to say.

"I didn't realize it was up soon, time passed by really fast."

Gray could only agree with her. It felt like she had just entered his life yesterday.

"Honestly, I haven't given it much thought yet. I really like my current work place and my coworkers are fun.."

Despite being glad to hear that, Gray had an uneasy feeling. The sentence wasn't over and he could tell that there was a but coming.

"..but-"

He was right. And for once he didn't like that at all.

"But I also got a really good offer from my old company."

"Working for a big company like ours is going to affect your future differently though, you'll have much more possibilities after."

Gray found himself trying to pursue her to stay. He had never made that effort before. Several employees had left his company and he had just accepted that and wished them well for the future, but with Juvia he couldn't do that.

"I know, but since I'm not sure where I want to head in the future or if I even want to continue building my career, it is not really my decision point at the moment."

Oh. That was not good. He needed to interfere and fast. "What's your decision point then? The salary? That can definitely be discussed."

"No, it's- it's not that."

"Well, then what is it? I mean there's something that must be bothering you and making you question whether you want to stay? I can take care of it, you just need to tell me what it is." Great, so much for not caring. Here he was sounding desperate to keep her at his company.

Silence followed. Gray found himself in front of her place already and parked the car. But neither of them made any move to depart yet. Juvia had gone awfully silent, seeming to overthink her answer and Gray could feel himself dreading it.

"Juvia, if there's anything bothering you at the company I need you to tell me. I want my employees to be happy and content, especially my assistants. If there's something wrong, I'll take care of it. You just need to tell me what's the issue."

Another moment of silence. Gray was already accepting that he wouldn't get an answer when he finally heard her speak. Her answer however confused him and he found himself wishing that he misheard her. When he turned towards her and saw the uncertainty in her eyes, the way she was trying to look anywhere else but at him, he knew that he didn't though. He had indeed heard her right. And that left him not only speechless but in a mess of emotions as well. He had expected anything but this answer. And he had to admire her honesty at least.

"You. You're the issue."

She looked at him one more time before removing her seat belt and getting out. She didn't give him anytime to answer. Not that he could. He was still in a state of shook. When he finally managed to shake himself out of it, Juvia had already entered her place. He couldn't forget the look she gave him before leaving though. It was filled with so much pain and Gray couldn't help but hate himself for it. He needed to make up his mind and make things clear between them. Because this, this was just hurting them both.

He remembered what he had told himself earlier. He was supposed to build up his walls. But now, now he wasn't so sure that he could still do that. Because if he goes through with it, something tells him that she would be gone. She'd take the offer and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

But if he didn't, that meant that he would have to deal with the mess of emotions inside him.

He thought back to Juvia. The girl with baby blue hair, big eyes that you can get lost in. The sweet girl that he had met in his father's office. The girl whos hand he held onto too long and who had managed to earn his father's approval immediately. The girl that shared lunch with him and didn't hold back from teasing him but would get flustered and embarrassed after. The girl who didn't mock him for eating by himself in a restaurant. The girl who would invite him over for dinner just because she didn't want to put him into an awkward position. The girl that cooked way too much and got frustrated with hard spots on her plate. Who would hide a cut out of embarrassment and stick up for him against her best friend. The girl who works past her shift and falls asleep on her desk waiting for him. The girl who isn't afraid to show how she feels, even if she has to be brutally honest.

The girl who managed to break down his walls without even trying.