Loke glances over at his friend's dull expression. Despite how lively and bustling the cafeteria is, Gray is all gloomy and almost lifeless, dark clouds above his head as he sighs deeply. His friend has been like this for a week and every time they try to ask him, the raven head just shakes his head and says nothing.
Gray sighs, poking the food with a fork when Loke nudges him with his shoulders, a hand pushes his glasses and points toward the familiar ocean blue hair walking into the cafeteria. The orange head waves at the girl, pulling her attention as she notices them, her lips curl up into a smile. But it fades away as soon as those sapphire orbs meet midnight blue eyes, she bites her lips and clumsily turns away, her face is as red as a tomato.
Loke blinks several times and turns to his friend, wondering if Gray is going to invite her to their table. What surprised him, even more, is how the raven head looks utterly defeated, his shoulder tensed as he turns away to avoid the bluenette.
"Hey, aren't you going to invite Juvia to sit with us?"
"Shut up, Loke!"
He looks over to Gajeel, who seems to be quite surprised as well. Gray has been actively avoided Juvia for many days and vice versa, which begs them the question, what happened between the two?
The raven head, although avoiding her, has asked Gajeel, Jellal and even Meredy to walk home with her. He didn't get into details about the incident but gave them enough information on why it's not good for Juvia to go home alone.
After that day and the kiss they shared, Gray believes that they should take some time off to cool their head, afraid that things might not be the same if they keep seeing each other regularly. Juvia agrees with this, there's no way she can face him after…after… Even with just a small glance, the bluenette's heart pounds heavily in her chest, her face heat up and her knees almost give in.
Juvia grips the bottle of juice tightly in her hand, her ears reddened at the small contact. Jellal looks at his sister then the raven head from afar, something is not right, the fact that the young bluenette didn't jump up and down when Gray looked at her confirms his suspicion. Not to mention the number of texts he receives from the raven head, asking him to escort Juvia home without any valid reasons irritated the man to his core.
I will need to talk with Gray Fullbuster…
Jellal excuses himself, saying that he needs to talk to Erza and slowly walking towards their table, leaving his sister behind with a confused look on her face. The young bluenette's eyes follow him and she sighs, shaking her head slightly to disregard the weird thoughts and heading back to the theatre room.
The first thing Juvia meets after closing the door behind her is Meredy's concerned eyes. The pink head is sitting next to Lyon, talking about how their friend was acting very weird in the past few days. Her lack of enthusiasm for practicing worries her, but every time she tries to bring up the topic, Juvia would stay silent, which only makes the matter worse.
"Juvia, I don't know what's happening between you and Gray-san but please, you need to concentrate!"
She rests her chin on one hand, sighing again. The bluenette understands how her moody aura can affect other people, but she can't focus, not when she doesn't have the answers for all the questions that overwhelm her mind. She's supposed to practice and prepare for the performance, not sitting here and be all depressed, but no matter how hard she tries to ignore it, memories of that night keep coming back.
Gray kissed her…
Was it a dream? A hallucination? For Mavis's sake, Juvia never thought that Gray would come to her place to comfort her, hugging and whispering words to soothe the distressed girl, let alone kissing her. She tries to convince herself that it's all just a beautiful dream, that nothing happened between them, but no… It's not a dream…
She doesn't understand why he kissed her. A kiss, to her, is a romantic action between lovers. But Gray and Juvia are neighbors and friends, no more, no less. The raven head never once mentions his feelings for her and she is too shy to confess, so what is the meaning behind the kiss they shared?
Meredy looks at her friend and sighs, although she wants the bluenette to feel her wrath, Juvia's defeated look stops her.
"Juvia, you should go home. Get some good rest, okay?"
Lyon nods his head, agreeing with his girlfriend. Juvia looks tired, the dark circles under her eyes indicate the lack of sleep. The bluenette wants to protest but stops herself, her head is spinning and everything in front of her starts to get blurry. It's horrible…
When Juvia gets out of the theatre room, Meredy pulls out her phone and taps on the screen, sending a message to Jellal to inform him that she sent her home alone and ask the man to send Gray a message. Lyon chuckles when his girlfriend shows him the text, he can imagine how the raven head will hurry back by the bluenette's side to escort her home.
Gray bites his lips nervously when Jellal asked to talk to him in a less crowded place. He knows where this is going, it's no surprised to him that the older bluenette wants to ask him about what happened in the past couple of days.
"So, are you going to tell me or not?"
The raven head slightly turns away, avoiding the intense green eyes stare at him. Juvia is Jellal's beloved sister and for him to not see her lovely smile is indeed concerning. But there's no way Gray can tell him that he had taken advantage of the situation and stole the bluenette's first kiss, the man will behead him right here, right now.
The lack of response irritated him but Jellal digests, knowing that there are things that he should not get involve in. He knows Gray is a good kid, he sees how much the raven head cares for her and he knows that he can put Juvia's happiness in the young man's hand. But before that can even happen, he needs to make sure that Gray understands what he's getting himself into.
"Gray, has Juvia ever told you about her life?"
"Ah…"
The question catches him off guard as Gray never expects the man to ask him that. Sure he knows that Juvia is a 2nd-year student at Magnolia University and majors in Theatre Art, she's very good at the violin and a great cook, besides all of that, he never really asks her about her private life or family, thinking that it's quite inappropriate for a neighbor to ask such questions.
"Well, base on your expression, I can tell that you know little to nothing about her." the older bluenette sighs "But it's okay, eventually she will tell you."
"Jellal-san, what are you trying to tell me?"
The man fixes his gaze on him, green eyes bore right into his soul, intense and full of judgment.
"Gray Fullbuster, answer me this question. What is Juvia to you?"
The raven head flinches, he looks at the man, stunned at the question. What is Juvia to him? Of course, she's a great friend and neighbor, a kindhearted and lovely girl. But if she's only a friend to him, it doesn't justify his actions a few days ago, when he kissed the bluenette in her very own apartment. Gray knows that he is fond of her, but to think that there's something more between them, he's not sure…
"You don't have to answer my question. From the first time we meet, I already know…" Jellal stops himself for a second before continues "I already know that I can entrust you with Juvia's happiness."
"J-Jellal-san?"
"Juvia is the type of girl who never wants to bother anyone with her problems, she chooses to deal with them on her own rather than ask for help. That little girl always masks her sorrow with a perfect smile on her face, even when she's being treated poorly, Juvia will always forgive them and let it go." the man sighs deeply "But she puts her kindness in the wrong people, with the hope that one day, they will accept and love her the same way she has loved them."
People might think of Juvia as an angel sent down by the lord but to Jellal, he sees her as an unfortunate child who yearns for nothing but love and acceptance. Since the day his mother passed away, he has never seen Juvia happy nor he has seen a real smile on her face, but now…
"I see it, the way her face lit up whenever you're next to her. Juvia trusts you with all her heart, and so do I." he smiles "Gray, is it too much for me to ask you this? To make my sister happy, to always by her side and never leave her? Can you do that?"
Gray is baffled at his words but soon regains his cool, Jellal is asking him a very serious question, one that might change his relationship with Juvia and bind him with her forever. His heart is racing, almost like he's thrilled when the older bluenette put his trust in him like this.
Should he accept his request?
Will he regret it?
Many questions pop up but soon disappear when the picture of Juvia's beautiful smile enters his mind. Gray has promised that he will do whatever it takes to protect that smile and he will keep that promise.
"I can do that." he sheepishly nods his head "I promise that I will make her happy."
A satisfied smile forms on Jellal's lips as he pats the raven head on the back, showing his approval of whatever will happen to the young couple. But before he can say anything else, his cellphone ring, a new message appears on the screen. Reading the text, Jellal sweatdrops and turns to Gray, who looks at him, puzzling.
The raven head nods his head, listen to what Juvia's brother has to say before snaps his eyes open, staring at the man in pure shock. Without even saying goodbye, Gray grabs his backpack and runs towards the gate, hoping to catch up with a certain bluenette as soon as possible. The man's eyes follow him, an amused smile forms on his lips as he touches the screen to look at the message again.
"Can you please inform Gray-san that I've sent Juvia home? She's going back, alone!"
Gray runs fast, trying to find the lovely bluenette in the crowd. He can't believe that Meredy let her walk home alone when he clearly stated that it's not safe for Juvia to do that, and Jellal's smirk didn't help the situation either as the raven head is forced to run as fast as he can to catch up with Juvia. Perhaps luck is on his side this time as the raven orbs land onto the familiar figure that is slowly walking out the gate.
"Juvia!"
She startles at the familiar voice and slowly turns around, her eyes open widely and a small 'o' forms on her lips.
"G-Gray-sama…"
Juvia blinks a couple of times, looking at the man who is trying to catch his breath after all the running. There's an awkward air rise around them, it's been a while since, since…
The bluenette doesn't know what to do, she wishes to talk to him but the thought of that night, when they shared a kiss overflows her mind, making the poor girl blushes madly and unable to face him.
"Y-you're walking home alone?"
"Ah…y-yes…" she nods her head "M-Meredy sends her home early today…"
Gray then looks at her, his black orbs stare right back at the blue jewels, so serious yet so gentle. His stare makes Juvia squirm in her spot, her face heats up with various shades of pink and red. Why is Gray staring at her like that…?
"You…" he tries to say something but ultimately shuts his mouth.
The raven head knows that it's still awkward between them, not after he stole her first kiss then flat out avoided the poor girl like she's a plague. He knows he should say something to clear the air, lessen the tension between them but every time Gray tries to talk, words just magically disappear, leaving the man with nothing but a blank spot in his mind.
But he doesn't want Juvia to walk home alone either, it's very dangerous, especially after the incident that Ultear told him. He has always told himself to protect the bluenette, to keep her safe and now, the raven head understands that it's time for him to keep that promise.
"Gray-sama, J-Juvia…"
"I will walk you home."
His words, gentle yet firm. The way his back orbs shine with determination causes Juvia to blush madly and unable to hold back the chuckles from escaping her lips. Gray is holding out his hand like he expects the girl to hold onto it and accepts his offer.
How could she not?
How could she not when the man in front of her is willing to put away his work only to escort her back to her apartment. Such gentlemen and chivalry action makes Juvia's heart skips a beat.
The bluenette stares at the calloused hand, a sweet smile forms on her pink lips as Juvia happily accepts his offer. The tensed air begins to die down, leaving the two young people with something more sweet and gentle as they begin to walk back to their apartment, with the bluenette asks Gray if he wants to eat dinner at her place and the raven head eagerly accepts.
None of them notices many pairs of eyes follow them as Loke, Meredy, Lucy and Jellal hide behind the bushes, ignoring the weird stares from other people as they snickers and high-five each other, their plan is a total success.
"I bet 100 jewels that these two will end up together."
"That's a stupid bet, Loke." Lucy complains "We all know that they WILL end up together!"
Jellal and Meredy chuckle at the silly argument, but it's a relief to all of them that Gray has actively asked Juvia to come home with him without any hesitation.
"I know that look, Lucy! Don't even think about it!"
Loke casts her a look, smirking at how Lucy is pouting, brown eyes keep following the young pair walking out the gate. Knowing the blonde for quite a while, he knows how she's eager to dive deep into Gray's feelings towards Juvia. Although the raven head is quite obvious of how he's fond of Juvia, the blonde's journalist background refuses to accept such a half-baked answer. She wants more evidences, she wants Gray to admit his feelings but that can be a hard task, consider how the math-majored student always keeps secret about his life.
"Oh come on, you don't want to hear it from him?" she whines.
"As his best friend, I can assure you that Gray will not let such secret slips out that easy. You know he hides this better than how he keeps his stripping habit under control."
