A couple of people reviewed for the last chapter saying they can smell the drama. Yes, MissAliCat, I do like drama! Here it comes!

Chapter 6

The Halloween dance soon approached, and the whole school was buzzing with energy. Classes were canceled the Friday before Halloween, and my friends and I went to decorate like we did for every school dance.

I hadn't seen Gray since we last talked at his house, and I was still eager to know who he liked. I had tried to figure it out, but I never saw him interact with anyone outside of our group of friends. The only single girls were Levy, who he already said he didn't like, and Cana, who he hardly interacted with, so I was at a loss.

"Party at my house after, of course," Lucy said, handing Lisanna her half of the string lights. "I convinced Mom to take Silver to a hotel on the edge of town for the night. Silver's the one with a stick up his ass, so Mom told him they needed a night in a hotel. She's so cool."

I was holding the ladder for Lisanna, and I looked over to Gray, who was holding Lucy's. He didn't seem to have any reaction when Lucy said something rude about his dad.

We had all assumed the step-siblings were close, but I had seen many instances where they clashed. It seemed that this time Gray was keeping his opinions to himself.

"Okay, all set!" Lisanna announced, proudly looking at her work. Between herself and Lucy, three lines of lights were hung all around the gym walls, each line a few feet apart. The lights added a soft glow to the room, and it would look great when all the gym lights were off.

The girls had done a great job decorating. Behind the lights, large sheets of fabric were hung to look like fastened curtains. The curtains were orange, and the lights were purple, which added nice color contrast. The floor had different Halloween drawings painted with washable paint.

The boys had been there to help carry things, such as the tables, DJ stand, and boxes of decorations. Luckily I kept busy enough that I didn't get the chance to watch Gray carry boxes because that would have been very distracting.

With the dance set up, everyone went home to get ready. Every grade wore costumes aside from the Seniors, who wore semi-formal attire. The tradition had started back when our parents were in school, and every year the Seniors decided to keep it going. I believe it began when the school started crowning the King and Queen of the Pumpkins. All the girls who were nominated wanted to dress up fancy, and their dates had to go along with it. No one wanted the nominees to be left out, so all the seniors decided to dress up.

This year, the nominations for Queen of the Pumpkins were Lisanna, Erza, and Lucy. Lisanna and Erza were one of the most popular girls in the grade, though they weren't in the "snotty girl" group. Lucy's nomination came as a surprise to some people, but I had seen how quickly she stole the hearts of everyone in the school.

The King of the Pumpkins nominations were typically chosen based off of the girls, so Jellal and myself were selected. Lucy wasn't associated with any particular guy, so Gajeel Redfox was chosen. He was reasonably popular, but I suspected he was nominated as a joke. Gajeel didn't care about school, especially not a silly dance.

Lisanna, Lucy, Levy, Erza, and Cana all got ready for the dance at the Stone Monkey. Mira wanted to help them get ready, and with all the girls going to the dance, no one was able to watch the bar otherwise. Jellal, Gray, and I all got ready at our own houses. We met at the front of the school while we waited for our dates.

We were all wearing black tuxedos with ties to match our dates' dress. Jellal was wearing a red tie to match Erza, Gray was wearing an orange tie to match Levy, and I was wearing a pink tie to match Lisanna.

Layla and Silver drove all the girls to the dance using two cars. Lisanna, Levy, Erza, and Cana rode with Silver, and Sherria, Wendy, and Lucy rode with Layla. Wendy and Sherria had gotten ready at Wendy's house, and they were both wearing costumes. Wendy was wearing a bunny suit, and Sherria was dressed as a firefighter in honor of my father.

Jellal took a lot of time to gush over Erza's dress, but I couldn't find the energy to do the same with Lisanna. She looked nice, sure, but I wasn't filled with the overwhelming joy of seeing her dressed so beautifully.

The crowing of the King and Queen of the Pumpkins happened at the start of the dance since many Freshmen and Sophomores had to leave early and wouldn't want to miss it. Lisanna and I were crowned King and Queen, and we were each given a crown that had tiny pumpkins on them. We were also required to share a special dance.

During the dance, I kept thinking about Lisanna's small hands. She held them at my neck and used her fingertips to tickle my hairline, and I wasn't sure if the action was intentional. No matter her intentions, it sent chills down my spine each time in a wicked way.

When the song ended, I rushed over to the punch table. Gray noticed my abrupt exit. He followed me to ask if I was okay. I tried to give him my most convincing smile. He didn't believe it because he asked, "Do you not like Lisanna?"

I tried not to look nervous as I said, "No, I just hate doing things like that in front of people."

"You're usually very confident," he said, "so I don't believe you."

When the next slow song came on, I made sure to stay busy with the refreshments so Lisanna wouldn't ask me to dance. I watched everyone else dance instead. I saw that Erza also played with Jellal's hair, but she was much more bold about it. Jellal held tightly onto her waist, and they were both enjoying themselves.

I searched for Gray. He was dancing with Levy, and he seemed very bored. His hands were higher on her back. I noticed a sense of strength in his hands, and I knew that he was showing his will to protect her. I suddenly knew what he meant about always having his guard up around girls. Even at a school dance, he held onto her like someone could come up at any moment and take her.

Many guys asked to dance with the Queen of the Pumpkins, so I successfully avoided Lisanna the rest of the night. I saw that Wendy and Sherria were dancing with a cowboy, probably Romeo Conbolt. Lucy danced around with many guys, including Gray.

When the dance was over, everyone walked to Lucy's house. The girls no longer felt the need to impress anyone, so they carried their shoes and ran through the streets. Most of the guys took their time walking, and I lagged behind even farther. I took in everything around me, knowing that it was my last Halloween dance.

By the time I reached Lucy's house, the party was alive and buzzing. Every light in the house was on, and I could hear the music from a block away. If Magnolia had the type of people that called the cops on loud parties, then I would have been worried for Lucy and Gray.

When I went inside, I saw rowdy kids, lots of food, and dozens of red plastic cups. I hadn't realized the party would have alcohol, but I wasn't surprised. I went to the kitchen to find a cup for myself, deciding to participate a little.

"Natsu!" Lisanna shouted, raising her cup in the air. She moved through a small crowd to get to me, picking up an extra cup on the way.

"Thanks," I said, taking the cup. I looked around, trying to find another friend, but I couldn't find anyone.

Lisanna seemed to guess my thoughts. She explained, "Jellal and Erza went on a walk, Cana is in the back drinking with a bunch of guys, your sister is in Wendy's room, and Lucy is making her way around the crowd." She didn't include the one person I wanted to know about: Gray. "Let's go somewhere private."

I couldn't believe that Lisanna was so bold. I imagined she had a head-start drinking to gain the confidence. I quickly downed my drink, needing some confidence of my own. She just laughed at my antics, got another cup for me, and took my hand.

We walked into the dining room, one of the least crowded places in the house because it didn't have the source of the music, like the living room, or the reservoir of alcohol, like the kitchen. She moved so we were by a corner, my back against the one wall. She stood too close.

"I'm sorry we didn't dance more at the party, King," she said. Even her voice was oozing confidence. She moved her fingers up my shirt, teasing the top button. My stomach flipped, and I knew I needed to get away.

What's wrong with me? I thought. I wished I could trade places with someone. I could walk into another room and point at any random guy, and they would gladly take my place.

Lisanna looked up at me with her big blue eyes, and I couldn't lie to myself anymore; I did not want to be with her. She got onto her toes and leaned towards my face, and I was hoping for her sake that she didn't try to kiss me. She did, though, and I only let her lips brush mine before I pushed her away. She seemed surprised, but she probably had enough alcohol in her to avoid getting too upset.

I finished my second drink before going upstairs to Gray's room; I knew no partiers would be there. I felt dizzy from feeling my world crash around me. I knew Lisanna could very well hate me in the morning, and many people would be confused as to why I rejected her.

I opened Gray's door and smiled when I saw him laying on his bed. He sat up when he saw me. He had already changed into a regular shirt and sweatpants. I took off my jacket and shoes, throwing them on the floor by the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be with Lisanna?"

I remembered I was wearing my crown still, so I threw that, as well. "Things don't work with Lisanna," I said. I sat down beside him on the bed, putting my head in my hands.

Gray put his hand on my knee, probably trying to be supportive. "What doesn't work?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. I looked up at him, and he seemed truly worried for me. "Where's Levy?"

"She's with Lucy," he said.

"It wasn't working for you either, was it?" I said. He looked startled for a minute, and then he seemed to compose himself. I wondered if he knew what I meant.

I leaned back on the bed with my feet still on the floor. The room was spinning. "Do you ever feel like you are totally wrong about something, even if you used to be so sure of yourself?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I don't think we are wrong about things; we just grow and change."

"I think I've changed," I said. "Maybe you're right; maybe I've been slowly changing and haven't realized it." I sat back up again. "It started with her hands, and then it became everything else."

"Are you talking about Lisanna?" he asked. "What happened?" He had a concerned look on his face again.

What happened? I asked myself. I liked Lisanna. Things were natural. Then Gray moved to town, and things got messy. No, he didn't make things messy; I just realized they already were. I grew, and I changed.

Gray might have wanted to say something else after that, but he never got the chance. Before either of us could realize what was happening, I kissed him.

And he kissed me back.

What did you all think? Do you want Gray to have a positive or negative reaction to the kiss? Did you want them to kiss? What did you think about Lisanna moving-in on Natsu? What do you want to see in the upcoming chapters?