things requested in this chapter
-stuvia, lyvia, canon gruvia, fucking gruvia kiss (yall are thirsty damn), stingue, and meredy
things delivered in this chapter
-stuvia
please do me a huge favor and lower your expectations
"Hey, so, I have a question," Sting drawled, having the fucking time of his life fiddling with his tie. There was literally nothing wrong with it, but part of me wondered if he just liked to look like he was important.
"Fire away," I instructed him with a huff. Like my instruction would actually have an impact on whatever he was about to ask, anyway.
"If you've got these," he murmured, snapping the spaghetti straps of my elusive midnight blue prom dress curtly, prompting myself to grab his collar forcefully.
"Hey, hey, relax! Just hear me out!" He laughed, humored by my instincts smash his vital organs into jelly. I released his collar generously and allowed him to continue.
"So…where's your bra?" He inquired, gesturing to my shoulders and how they were bra strap-less, and to my chest, which generously showed the assets I normally hid under lock and key.
"It's called a strapless bra, genius." I answered him. He gaped at me like I had just made that up on the spot.
"You don't say," he mused, tapping his chin like I'd provoked a scholarly thought. "Next you'll tell me they've invented bras that hook in the front."
Before I could bother to enlighten him in bra science, Lucy grabbed me by the arm painfully quickly. Her arms were as bony as they came, it was like being stabbed with a javelin, but the javelin was as soft as velvet. She moisturizes.
"You, look gorgeous!" She exclaimed, her eyes were shimmery like she happened to dump a bottle of glitter in them before arriving at Lisanna's place for the pre-prom photos and mini-party. Natsu trailed closely behind her, offering me a wave of condolence. I awkwardly returned it.
"And you," Lucy turned to Sting, pointedly smashing her nail against his chest. "Had better treat her like a princess."
Sting looked mildly offended. "Why me? Can't she treat me like a princess? I'm obviously the pretty one in the relationship."
Lucy sent us a look of bewilderment and I tried to convey to her that for us, this was normal.
"Great. Princess Sting, why don't you go grab me a Dr. Pepper. I'm feeling positively parched." I bopped his nose with my finger and shooed him away from me, despite his very un-princess like sneer. This was mainly a clever tactic to steer him away from my slightly normal friends, which he thankfully fell for.
"He's a…he's interesting." Lucy commented, before squeezing my arm some more. "So? Are you excited? I told you it was going to be fun! And I knew you'd have no trouble getting a date!" Lucy bubbled a million words at once.
"Uh…sure. Time of my life." I confirmed her belief. She smiled, and I was instantly blinded by the rays of her beauty. Unfair, by the way.
"You should probably head back to your dragon over there, he seems a bit steamed I've kept him out of his company for so long…" I teased. Feeling comfortable with Natsu, or any guy, for that matter, around Lucy, was a bit of a new sensation for me. I felt like my child had grown up and I was watching her date for the first time. I was scared, proud, and worried.
"Ooo, don't wait up!" Lucy nudged me and winked. Gross.
She bounded back to Natsu and looped arms with him, he practically sucked up her essence like a vacuum and made sure that her arm was as close to his as possible.
At least Lucy was happy, I mean. That was the least she deserved.
"Why do you always look like someone just shoved an entire lemon wedge up your asshole?" Sting asked me moments later, throwing my Dr. Pepper at me surreptitiously, and conveniently missing my dress, by which I'd have cleanly murdered him if he were to have ruined it.
"Well, you would know a thing or two about shoving other things up assholes, wouldn't you?" I fired back, sipping the remainder of my Dr. pepper 9which he had opened and drank ¾ of the can), in satisfaction. He let out a low whistle.
"Low-blow. And by blow, I mean-"
"I know what you mean." I interrupted dryly.
"No but seriously. Juvia. My rain bean. My one and only, disgustingly straight friend. Whom also has impeccable taste in men. What is the matter." Sting asked me gracefully, toying with a bouncy lock of my hair that I had purposefully let fall out of my tight, meticulous bun.
"I'm just…" I looked around, searching for the answer as if I'd find it among the luminous crowds in Lisanna's front yard. "…jaded."
"Jaded?" Sting asked. "At 18? For god's sake Juvia, you're going to be married to a legion of cats by the time you're 28. Live a little?"
Instead of dignifying him, I just leaned against his shoulder a tiny bit, forcing him to carry some of my dead weight without making it look like he was doing so. This gave me the excellent opportunity to scope out the scene.
Natsu and Lucy were still visible, mingling with guests all about the lawn, I'm sure Lucy's bubble-gum sweet personality mixed with Natsu's weird unexplainable popularity would allow them to do so with ease. She glowed bright in the sunlight, like she'd been dusted with liquid gold before arriving, and her shimmering pale pink dress absolutely didn't wash her out like it did me, it only made her look as stunning as I always knew her to be. Natsu was one lucky, average looking not-so-bad-after-all asshole.
Lisanna was going with Bixlow. Bixlow? Who the fuck is Bixlow? Hell if I know. He seemed nice enough, and it looked like he was positively sweating his balls off, what with Elfman glaring holes in his back for even being within the vicinity of his adorable baby sister, that on top of the fact that Lisanna could kill a man with the sharpness of her eyeliner and the sheer red of her long, silky dress.
Speaking of red.
Erza may as well have just roundhouse kicked me to the fucking face and then stabbed me in the stomach when she arrived. Because, yeah. Surprise, surprise, she looked fucking push-me-off-a-cliff gorgeous.
The extremity of her royal purple dress and full out curled hair was that of a 9.9 on the Richter Scale. Pretty sure several people had to evacuate and take a breather.
Jellal's soul departed from himself the moment he saw her, I'm sure. His eyes were a disgusting shade of I'm-in-love and his smile was a goofy sort of squiggly line, like halfway through drawing his mouth he had decided to take a nap and fail.
Erza and Jellal were sitting on Lisanna's front porch, he was basking in her beauty and Erza was providing it while talking about something Jellal clearly had no comprehension of, his brain fried by the waves of her ultraviolet beauty. Not much different from usual, I guess.
My eyes scanned the rest of the yard, unfamiliar and barely familiar couples and groups scattered throughout. I saw Kinana, my precious sweet roll, hanging off of the arm of Cobra, who was the human equivalent of cyanide poisoning.
Kinana's smile was as wide as ever, and I offered her a brief wave of recognition. She waved back enthusiastically, and Cobra looked like he was about to flat-line from boredom.
"No sign of your charming boyfriend," Sting mused, noticing my people-watching ad smirking.
"Would you shut up with that? He is not my boyfriend." I argued, cringing as the words flew out of my mouth. I sounded like an angry kindergartener on a play-date.
Sting nodded. "I know, it's ridiculous. You have the perfect opportunity to tap would could be labeled as the most perfect man this universe has ever laid its eyes on, and yet you're too busy shoving lemons up your ass to pay attention to him." He summarized.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes Sting, you're absolutely right. I have paid zero attention to Gray ever since we've become friends, and I have never ever considered tapping him."
Sting raised a single eyebrow and shifted his weight onto one leg. "Ahhh, so you do like him."
"As a friend."
"God dammit Juvia." Sting groaned, resting his head on top of mine and sighing. "You're a piece of work who's never going to get laid."
"Says you, super-virgin." I muttered. Sting looked positively offended.
"At least I'm not hetero." Sting murmured, like it was an absolute death sentence instead of a sexual orientation.
"Whatever. Wanna go talk to Erza?" I asked him, feeling uncomfortable with the onslaught of people whom I didn't recognize. Sting shrugged.
"Don't you think her boyfriend will get jealous?" Sting hinted. I didn't quite understand his reference, so I stepped on his foot to get him to shut up.
"Ow, jesus christ, what the hell is on your foot, king Arthur's sword?" He asked, cringing as he bounced up and down to cradle his damaged foot.
"Don't be a wuss. Want to go pretend to have sex in Lisanna's room?" I asked him out of pure boredom. And I was in the mood to screw with Lisanna.
"Hell yes." Sting pretended to pray like he had been waiting for my offer all day.
Eagerly, he grabbed my hand and we raced inside, threading through groups of people being sentimental assholes in the kitchen and eating all of the Strauss's food. Not that I wasn't technically apart of that crowd, because I'd definitely caused a significant dent in their Ritz cracker supply.
Before we could make the trip upstairs to Lisanna's room, we were stopped by Medusa. I mean Evergreen.
"Juvia," she greeted icily, absorbing my outfit with her eyes and a judgmental glare. She was sporting a painfully green dress that hugged her curves so tight there was a small chance she might pop out of it like bread dough in one of those poppable containers.
"Evergreen. I love what you've done with your…whole…thing…" I gestured to her face and body and she made a sour face.
"Whatever. I just hope you're happy. And just because you've got Gray wrapped around your little finger doesn't mean I have to like you." She hissed venomously. Sting looked positively giddy, but he always was a total slut for drama.
"Touché." I hummed, wincing at the way she depicted Gray. Wrapped around my finger? Please. Gray had me wrapped around his finger so tight I could spontaneously combust at any moment. Preferably now.
"And you," she moved on to Sting, before sighing like he wasn't even worth her time. "The only reason you're going with her is because you got rejected by that goth kid."
"Hey," Sting held up a finger. "He is not goth. Just…experimental."
"Whatever. See you two at prom, hopefully not giving away your non-existent virginity." Evergreen implied, taking her leave with an annoying sway of her hips.
"Yeah well green is not your color!" Sting fired back angrily.
"Nice one." I observed dryly.
"What? It isn't." He stated clearly. "Plus, Juvia, no offense, but you're like a million times hotter than her. Seriously, in that dress, you could sway my sexuality." He winked and I pretended to gag.
"Go get me some snacks." I demanded, pushing him away from him in slight mortification.
As much as I loved self deprecation, getting ready for prom had somewhat boosted my near nonexistent confidence. My mom was a genius with makeup and hair, and she had dedicated all of her time to making me look effortlessly murderous with my beauty. Or…lack thereof.
Nonetheless, my mom and dad had made sure I knew that if I had sex to make sure it was protected (or mistakes like me would happen) and that no matter what, I was to take no crap from anybody. Even I'll admit that making my dad cry because I was so 'grown up' had a little bit of bittersweet satisfaction to it.
"Fine. I'll meet you in Lisanna's room, don't pretend to have sex with anybody but me, or I'll get jealous." Sting warned with a dangerous wink. I hate him so much sometimes it hurts.
I shook my head and turned towards the steps, scaling them carefully with my moderate heels, but not without help from the railings. I was pretty terrible at balance in the first place, and adding an extra two inches of heel wasn't helping me stay vertical whatsoever.
Lisanna's room was empty, thank god, and was also remarkably cleanly, for someone who couldn't organize her locker on her life. All over Lisanna's wall were decorative photos plastered against corkboard, ones I recognized from long ago. Ugh. 2014 Juvia really needed to learn what concealer was.
The photos were mostly of Levy and Lucy, but also contained many of me and Erza, occasionally Elfman and Mira, and other friends from school throughout the years. It was rather nostalgic, actually. Here I was, nearly a month away from graduation, and all over the walls were pictures of me back when I didn't have a care in the world.
I plucked a photo off of the wall, holding the push-pin in one hand and the photo in the other. It was one of me, Lucy, Lisanna, and Erza, all posing in front of the school library with dorky, annoying smiles on our faces. Levy was distant in the background, sitting at one of the tables, miles ahead of us in studying.
We all looked stupidly happy.
I felt myself smile despite my very best efforts. As weird as these past few months had been for me, I had some pretty great friends, and a pretty good life.
I heard the floorboards creak behind me and I sighed, tired of Sting's theatrics. And it was only 5:00 pm.
"If you're looking for embarrassing photos of me, look no further." I joked at my own expense. Not that I cared if Sting saw me back when I was even uglier than I was now, Sting's opinion meant less to me than the mold in the girl's locker room.
"Oh trust me, I am." The voice, that definitely did not belong to Sting, said from behind me. My entire body recoiled in pain and embarrassment. Why me. Why.
I forced myself to look around and my heart stopped.
Like, actually stopped. I had to force myself, mentally and physically, to will my heart to continue beating.
It just wasn't fair. No matter how good I felt about myself, or how much makeup I wore, nothing could ever compare to him.
"Juvia," he nodded in my direction, a curling, half smile on his stupid smug-ass face.
"Gray." I quoted, folding my arms over my abdomen protectively.
He looked criminal in his tux, really. Black always complimented him best, and I felt my breath supply run short. His hair was shiny and smooth looking, irresistible to the touch, and it was effortlessly tousled like he was intentionally trying to murder me.
"You look…" he trailed off, taking a hesitant step forward and breathing out. "Really great."
"I should hope so," I pestered, placing my hands on my hips and pushing my hair back out of embarrassment. Why did I always get a million times more disgusting in his presence? "You don't look too bad yourself, Gray."
He ran his fingers through his hair and I contemplated drowning myself in Lisanna's toilet.
"Your word is gospel to me," he joked, and I felt the room lose a little bit of gravity. I shifted a bit, setting the photo I had been examining onto Lisanna's vanity table and biting my lip.
"So," I began, hoping to find a conversation topic that wouldn't revolve around me rejecting him to be his prom date. Even though I desperately wanted to know who he came with. "You came."
"Course I did," he laughed, turning around so that he wasn't facing me, but Lisanna's closed window. "I had to make sure Sting wasn't up to anything funny."
My knees buckled and he sent me a knowing smile. Then, he sat down on Lisanna's bed, admiring the rows of photos on her walls. I felt as if he were inviting me to sit with him, so, like a huge dumbass with weak knees, I followed his lead and sat down beside him.
"Nice tie." I noticed, it was a deep red in color. No doubt matching his date. His date that wasn't me.
"Thanks. My mom bought it." He smiled and I laughed a little bit, his joke was funnier now that I had actually met his mother.
"She must be proud," I mimicked, straightening the tie out a bit and invading his personal space without thinking. He stayed silent as I fidgeted with the base.
"She is," he murmured, eyes fixed on my fingers as I pulled away from his chest. I immediately retreated my hands to my lap and silently fiddled with the midnight colored fabric of my dress.
I bit the inside of my cheek as a silence lapsed over us. It felt like we both wanted to say a million things, but neither of us could work up the courage to actually begin.
"So, hey, I found out something interesting about Holy Angels." Gray started awkwardly, one hand in his pocket and the other one habitually running through his hair, which I had a sudden urge to touch.
"What's that?" My voice ghosted as my focus drifted to his face, which was looking even more angelic than usual. It was really ridiculous how good he looked, it was like he didn't even realize how gut-wrenchingly painful it was to be in his presence.
"It's…not all that far from Bloomington Tech. We might be seeing a bit of each other in the future." He informed me with a guilty smile.
Oh god. No, no, no. My one goal in life – to escape my meta-crush on the most attractive boy in the universe. Ruined. Crushed. Destroyed.
"That's…" I opened my mouth to say something, but faltered.
"If you're not sick of me already, that is…" He tempted, indicating that this was something I had to swallow first, not digest. It wasn't like he was proposing marriage, or anything.
"That's…great!" I finished with the most plastic smile I could conjure.
"Right?" He asked excitedly. Did he just scoot closer to me? Or is my mind in a Gray-induced high, like there was some sort of drug I could pop in his presence and immediately be reduced to the blubbering mess I always was.
"Yeah, I mean…maybe I can mooch more coffee off of you," I spoke, decidedly taking advantage of him versus the much more terrifying objective of telling him how horrified I was that our campuses would be close.
My months of preparation…my efforts…all of it, into a poof of smoke!
Why couldn't I have just fucking googled the location of Bloomington Tech. Why did my fatal flaw have to be gorgeous men with a hero's complex?
"That, I wouldn't mind." He informed me kindly. Oh, fuck me six ways from sundown. He looks like an angel in disguise. And that disguise is another, more beautiful, more exquisite angel.
I felt a breath escape from between my lips, and I was tempted to bite them some more, even though my mother had told me that if I bit my lips she'd personally pluck my eyeballs out and make me eat them. In case you're wondering where that douse of violence came from, it's only due to the fact that she spent an excess amount of her time drawing my lips into a painfully sharp, maroon color, one not nearly bright enough to make me look as pale as copy paper, but just dark enough to still make me look kind of sinister. It was a look I enjoyed, and didn't fancy ruining with my annoying habits.
To my utmost and fear-induced surprise, Gray seemed to notice them as well.
As I slowly let myself breathe at a steady pace as he and I both ignored the glaring silence and focused instead on other things. For me, it was the way his lashes gracefully blinked and looked as peacefully undisturbed as a flower field.
Fucking Christ. I sound like I just leapt out of a page of Twilight and vomited up some garbage that Stephanie Meyer tried to pass as quality writing. Fuck.
Nonetheless, his eyelash game made me damn jealous. If I didn't know how incompetent he was with craft glue, I would've assumed he was wearing falsies.
"I like your…" he echoed suddenly, eyes still fixed onto the lower half of my face like I had tattooed his name on my jaw. "Your…uh…"
There were a thousand things he could've named that would've made me as happy as a kid on a four day sugar high, but unfortunately, destiny had to rear its hideous head like the self-righteous bastard that it was.
"Ehem…Juvia…" Sting's voice emitted from the hallway by the stairs, where he swung his leg casually around like he had just witnessed a crime rather than a small meet-n-greet between friends.
"Sting." My voice sounded as tight as Evergreen's spanx. "How nice of you to join us."
Gray shot up immediately, leaving a spare bounce on the bed where I was sitting. He anxiously looked like he had been caught groping my boobs instead of simply informing me of probably the worst thing I've ever heard. Right, I guess he does think Sting is my date, which he is, but at the same time…
"You know I'd be the last person to interrupt this sort of…thing…" Sting shot me a look that said I've-been-spying-on-you and I made a mental note to chastise him about that later. Sting continued after his unwanted innuendo flew over both of our heads. "…Anyways, the food is here and I figured my lovely princess would want to eat before Elfman's body mass inevitably absorbs all of it."
"How kind," I backhanded, standing up next to Gray and nodding at him. "I'll see you later Gray. Probably."
"Yeah. Later." He silently looked diagonally to the floor, as guilty a look as they came. Dork.
As soon as we were out of Gray's hearing range, Sting body-slammed me into a different room, presumably Mirajane's. He shoved he door shut and pressed his back against it so there was no escape.
"Dude," He exhaled, like he'd just had the world's longest LSD trip. "He wants you. Bad."
I rolled my eyes. "And I want pizza. Can we go, and skip the hysterical fanboying?"
Sting groaned and grabbed my shoulder, barely skimming the straps of my dress as he shook me back and forth.
"Juvia…blind, naïve…so stupid…must you make me spell this out for you?" Sting asked innocently, tipping his fingers under my chin patronizingly.
"It's my job to make everything impossible for you." I deadpanned. He flicked my neck and sighed.
"Fine. If you're going to be a skank about it, I might as well just not tell you." He sniffed haughtily, brushing off his deep blue undershirt like I had somehow gotten dirt all over it.
"If you're trying to bait me, it's not going to work." I whistled, not for one second giving into Sting's dirty tricks.
"Wow Juvia, you saw right through me!" He applauded sarcastically, popping his cheeks like a goldfish. "You should be a fuckin' magician!"
I punched his shoulder. "Asshole. Just say what you want to say and then we can go eat."
"If you really insist…" He simpered softly. "Gray Fullbuster wants Juvia Lockser…like a starving bear wants a camp full of boy scouts."
I choked a little bit in my throat. "First of all…could you have phrased that metaphor any worse?"
"Course I could. I was thinking about using one with Evergreen and a dild-"
"Oh dear." I interrupted, slapping my hand over his stupid mouth. "Haven't you done enough?"
"Almost is never enough." He surmised. Then, satisfied with my knowledge that he believed Gray to lust after me, he leaned forth and grabbed my hand.
"Milady…" he nodded at the silvery blue corsage he had placed on my wrist earlier in the day. "May I escort you to the food?"
"You may," I granted, feeling particularly high on myself as he grinned and dragged me downstairs.
"Think they'll have cookies?"
"They better."
.
.
.
Time kind of flies when you're struggling to hide the amount of caramels you've smuggled in your clutch. That wasn't my fault, though. It was Sting's. He was the one, after all, who'd proposed a friendly competition to see who could smuggle the most fancy candies out of the prom party in one piece.
Nonetheless, I'd decided that thirty-three candies would be enough to satisfy my date. We'd agreed to eating the candies on the car ride to the actual dance, so the amount of time I'd have to keep candy in my bra and purse wouldn't necessarily be any longer than an hour or so.
Hopefully nothing would melt. That was the worst case scenario.
Photos were at the end of the itinerary for the party, unfortunate enough. I had been lucky in the makeup category, given that my mother had smeared something on the level of super glue to retain my makeup clarity. Other girls hadn't been nearly as lucky. Smudged eyeliner was a girl's worst nightmare before pictures, and the bathrooms in the Strauss house were as compact as the streets of New York City.
Adorably enough, the Strauss's had a small gazebo in the backyard, one completely ideal for prom photos. Groups of girls and guys would pose with their teeth and spandex showing, not a care in the world that in about a month they'd be on their own. Figures.
"Ready for my shoot?" Sting pondered, striking an obnoxious pose as we waited to take our picture in the stupid gazebo.
"Our shoot." I corrected, tasting the bitterness on my tongue. I was kind of still technically searching for Gray, and his phantom date, who had yet to make a public appearance.
He made a face of discomfort. "Don't say that, it's so hetero."
"Stop being so extra, for god's sake."
"Can I eat that caramel from in between your boobs?"
"Maybe later."
My eyes shifted up, and then down again. The sun was beginning to set, luckily it was still fairly bright and provided nice lighting for pictures, but it still reminded me that in a little over an hour, I would be at prom, perhaps the most over hyped occasion on my high school career.
"Hey, wanna play a game, baby blues?" Sting asked casually, squishing his lips together so he looked like an ugly blond puffer fish.
"As long as I don't have to relinquish any of my pride." I suggested. He half-smiled and I made an upset moaning sound.
"Ok! This is a game I like to call…hump, hitch, hit."
I blinked a few times, even though my eyelashes were seriously heavy.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?"
He laughed, as if my confusion were some sort of hilarious joke.
"I believe the cool kids like calling it fuck, marry, kill, but…mine's better."
"It really isn't."
"Whatever. Ok, I'll go first." Sting began without asking for my consent to the game. Asswipe.
Sting first began by pointing to Cobra, which he should've well known was an immediate kill. Then, he testily swung his finger at Lucy. That was a tough one. Then, lastly, he pointed at someone I'd never seen before.
She had long, wavy hair that was the starkest, most gorgeous shade of pink I'd ever seen. As vibrant as her hair was, it didn't rival her vivid emerald eyes that shone like literal stars.
You'd think that coming from a girl with blue hair, I'd be the first to advocate that colored hair gives you a disadvantage in outfit choices because believe it or fucking not, blue hair does not go good with many colors. I would say the same for the mystery girl's pink hair, however, she was the kind of beautiful that could strut up and kill me while wearing a paper bag. Like Erza. And Lucy. And all of my friends. Fuck.
Anyways. She was donned in a strapless red dress that made me want to spontaneously bleed out of appreciation. She also leaked the sort of happy confidence that I would sell all of my future children for.
"She looks like if raspberry sorbet was a person." Sting summarized for me. It seemed that even he was interested by the strangely beautiful girl.
"So, whaddya say? Hump, hitch, or hi-"
"Shut up for a second!" I threw my hand over Sting's mouth and watched the girl intently. There was something off about her. In between her confidence and beauty lay…a sort of uncomfortable atmosphere, like she didn't belong here.
Then, a thought occurred.
Grated, that thought wasn't very original, and it was actually accompanied by a familiar arm.
"Oh shit." Sting voiced my opinion in two syllables.
An arm reached forth and grabbed the pink haired girls arm affectionately. She grinned and easily melted into him. Her date.
Gray.
"Ah…Juvia, why don't we…" Sting, sounding absolutely guilty, looked to change the subject instantly, knowing full well of my fragile heart being shattered into billions of pieces into the grass like shrapnel.
I promised myself I wouldn't get my heart broken. I promised myself I didn't have a chance.
But I also promised myself that I would try. And I failed. I fucking failed big time.
"Juvia…I'm sorry…" Sting apologized sincerely, tucking his large arm over my shoulder and forcing me to tear my eyes from Gray and his mystery girl, smiling and laughing about a joke I'd never be in on.
Jealousy. Ouch.
"It's ok." I reassured in a less than reassuring voice. I felt like my soul was fracturing into puzzle pieces, only the puzzle was a billion pieces and nobody likes puzzles with that many pieces.
And if you do like one billion piece puzzles, then you're in for a cute surprise.
"Juvia!" Gray's voice was so recognizable over the crowd I almost lost it. Nope. I don't want to meet princess perfect. I don't want to see you with her, and I definitely don't want to cry when my mom worked so hard to make me look like Angelina Jolie.
"Yikes. Want me to get rid of him?" Sting asked, voice laced with concern. I shook my head, he shouldn't have to deal with my problems.
He looked unsure, but continued his grip around my shoulders, like an anchor as I was drowning in a sea of anger and jealousy. I really did love Sting.
He waved at me, the pink haired girl grinning cutely as she dangled off of his arm. They looked adorable together, his red tie matching frighteningly close with the red of her dress.
Gray stood in front of us, not sensing the awkwardness, and Sting was the only one who attempted to break it.
"So." He started sharply. "You gonna introduce us, pretty boy?"
I liked how Sting got all of a sudden older-brothery when he sensed something was wrong. It was an ugly, cute part of his personality that made being close friends with him a definite benefit.
"Oh." Gray fumbled and his eyes twitched from me to his date. "Right! God, sorry…uh, Juvia, Sting, this is Meredy."
Meredy smiled so wide her eyes shut, and she waved at both of us happily. I waved back. She seemed nice. And it wasn't her fault I hated her with every fiber of my very soul.
Then, Meredy stopped.
"Wait…Gray…?" She trailed off, her shining eyes flickering from me to him. "This…is Juvia? The Juvia? Or is it-"
"Ahahahahahahahahaha…" Gray laughed for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Meredy."
Meredy grinned like a fox in a hen house. I felt my inhibitions fly away, like popped balloons. The Juvia? Did my name fly around a lot in the Fullbuster house?
It was certainly possible, what with Ultear believing I was some sort of fashion deity, and Lyon just straight up trying to crucify me. Still. It was a little odd the way she turned from sweet and sugary to evil and menacing in the span of eleven seconds.
"It is so nice to finally meet you!" She reached out and shook my hand.
"Meredy…" Gray uttered a sound of protest. She grinned back at him.
"You know, Gray talks a lot about you at home…apparently you encouraged him to enter the college he loved…that's so admirable…" Meredy gushed, her eyes constantly switching from me to Gray, like she was waiting to see his reaction. Which was just his normal I'm-uncomfortable-with-the-conversation face.
"That's…uh…" I couldn't think of a way to respond. This was definitely not how I expected Gray's date to act…in fact….she was pretty much the best….
"Uh…Juvia, Meredy is one of my close friends, she works at the ice rink." Gray annunciated carefully.
Close friends.
Is that so.
Sting lightly elbowed me, a sign that he too was in confusion and bewilderment.
"Yeahh, I missed my senior prom because some asshole gave me mono. Luckily, Gray, my knight in shining armor, suggested that he take me in order to reminisce the good 'ol days…" Meredy advertised, holding Gray like he was a product she was selling and winking at me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Meredy was yet another Sting, determined to pit Gray and I together by the end of the night. She seemed oddly invested in making him seem like a great guy, and in front of me, no less.
Sting looked down at me and mouthed two words. Pity date. I almost slapped him just for suggesting it.
Suddenly, Sting piped up with some actual, interesting news.
"Hey, I recognize you! You punched Lyon in the face!" He astounded, clapping his hand to his cheek and laughing. "That was fucking iconic."
Meredy glanced at her knuckles with pride. "He tried stealing some potato chips just because I was friends with him. He never saw it coming."
That's it. I love Meredy. See you on the other side, Gray Fullbuster.
"He whined about that for six days straight…" Gray mused, before shaking his head. "Are you guys in line for pictures?"
"Yup. And we're next." Sting nudged me ahead to get our photos taken. I shrugged towards Gray and Meredy and let Sting lead me to the gazebo where we were to look like an ideal couple, even though we were the exact opposite.
"Dammit Juvia, you're in my light," Sting complained by the time we were posing for our photo op. I rolled me eyes and took a tiny step to the right, trying to wrench my eyes away from Gray and Meredy, who were watching us eagerly. Sting absorbed the light and smiled famously, one arm locked around my waist and the other resting on his hip. I simply grabbed the arm that was around my waist with both my hands, I'm sure we looked like wannabes on the cover of a middle-aged romance novel, but whatever.
The picture flashed and Sting drug me away from the gazebo, all in the span of thirty seconds.
Before we could plan on exiting to the dance itself, I heard Meredy's voice ring out.
"Dammit, Gray, would you look at that…"
Sting and I turned, after all, we were only a foot or so away from them. Meredy held up the bottom hem of her dress with a pout on her adorable face.
"There's a grass stain! Oh, I have to fix this right away…" She trailed off, and I squinted, seeing absolutely nothing on her dress. Gray's face looked similar to mine, not spotting a flaw in her perfect dress.
"Oh, Juvia, could you do me a huge favor?" She asked, spotting me like a starving wolf and pulling me in by the wrist for the kill. "Just do the photo with Gray for me while I clean out this stain real quick? Thanks, you're a doll!"
Before I could even think of objecting, Meredy hurried away, Sting closely following her (but not before shooting me an annoying smirk), leaving Gray and I in a silent, momentary mind lapse.
"Uh." He mumbled, eyes fixed on the grass below. "That was…"
"Weird." I concluded.
"Yeah," he agreed quickly. "Meredy's kind of weird, but she'd been my friend for forever…"
"I understand," I nodded, thinking of Gajeel and how awkward he must feel with tiny, sweet Levy. I'd been friends with him forever, and even though it seemed weird, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
He smiled softly, a gentle, heartwarming smile that made my insides want to take a vacation forever in a volcano of happiness and doom. If that makes any sense at all.
"Um…did you want to take the picture, or…?" I trailed off, nervously pressing my lips together as his smile faded away into a grimmer look.
"I suppose we don't really have a choice, do we?" he asked rhetorically, making me feel not so great about my already nonexistent confidence. Thanks Gray, really feeling that friendship.
He walked up, not bothering to wait for me, and stood at the gazebo, looking mildly pissed as opposed to his low-key happiness from before. Yikes. I must've really put a damper on his mood.
I scooted up next to him and his hand rested on my waist loosely, setting my entire body on fire with just one touch.
Trying to lighten the mood, I decided to say something.
"Hey, cheer up big guy. I'm not that big of a downgrade from princess pinky, am I?" I lightly joked.
"Yeah." He said dryly. Fucking ouch.
He watched my face fall and then his morphed into one of fear.
"I mean – no! Sorry, I just-" he looked away and then looked back at me, obviously struggling with his words. "A lot of people are trying to…force us together? And I just…we're friends…right?"
His question rug in my head six more times. Right? We were friends. That was us. Chums buddies pals friends buddies pals friends chums. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Yeah." I gave him a faux smile and turned towards the camera, trying to look mildly happy as I was held in the arms of the guy I liked so much, despite feeling like my gut had just been kicked 87 times by third graders wearing cleats
The camera flashed and I felt Gray's arm tense underneath my hands. I wondered if he was as nervous as I was, and if so, for what reason? What in god's name did he have to be worried about around me, dorkess extraordinaire? Especially if he had the desire to put so much emphasis on the fact that we were "friends".
We left the gazebo in silence, myself forgetting to remove myself from his arm, like we were frozen, mid-picture.
"You guys look good together," the voice of Meredy perused, leaning on Sting like I usually did.
Gray made a huffing noise.. "Sure, whatever Mer."
Sting, keenly sensing the annoyance in Gray's voice, decided to help me escape.
"Well, we should be getting on our way soon…" He began, hinting that he wanted his date back from Gray's arm. He easily complied, loosening his grip and releasing me from my far-too comfortable spot by his side. Guess that was my only taste of being on par with Gray. Thanks Meredy. Now I'll never be able to enjoy a picture with a guy I like ever again, knowing it will never amount to Gray.
"Oh Juvia, sweet, sweet Juvia. Your life has really gone to shit, hasn't it?" Sting asked rhetorically as he pulled me away from Meredy and Gray towards Lisanna's front yard.
"You can say that again."
"…Ok. Oh Juvia, sweet, sweet-"
I elbowed him in the ribcage. "Shut the fuck up."
"Anything for you, darling."
.
.
.
"They may have a limousine…but we have something better."
"Sting that's a tricycle."
"That," he abruptly turned, finger pointed to the sky and suit straightened. "Is a very astute observation."
My eyes scanned the red rusty tricycle in Lisanna's garage aimlessly. Fortunately for us, we were scheduled to hitch a ride with Jellal and Erza to the actual dance. Unfortunately for us, they had yet to show up at the designated meeting place. Lisanna's front driveway that is.
Most of the teens had already either set off in their flaunty limousines, or just decided to ditch the occasion and smoke pot in the woods. In that retrospect, Sting and I were one of the few couples still lingering.
"20 bucks says they're doing it someplace super kinky." Sting leaned over and whispered into my ear, for no reason other than dramatic effect.
I leaned close to his ear. "Their car."
He leaned back into mine. "No, the treehouse." He reached up and pointed to what was undoubtedly Lisanna's childhood and winced.
Right on time, Jellal pulled up in his car and waved to us. Erza waved as well, her skintight dark gloves shimmering in the starlight like she was an empress of the night.
"Finally. The straights do something right." Sting muttered resentfully as we climbed into the back two seats, probably wrinkling our expensive prom clothing and not caring.
"Ready to have some fun?" Jellal asked, sounding frighteningly like my dad that one time he honked at a soccer mom in a mini van and we ended up having to drag race them.
"Ready to get crazy?" Sting rephrased, leaning over and pulling off one of my dress straps.
Erza's threatening eyes shifted back on Sting after the resonating sound of me smacking the back of his head. He respectfully lowered his hands and his lap.
"Uh, I mean, get responsibly crazy." He corrected. Erza smiled thinly.
Sting and I took the opportunity when the car sputtered to life to eat our winnings from the Strauss's place, all 52 caramels we had smuggled in and around our prom outfits.
"You don't wanna know where this one was," he admitted grimly, flaunting a squished caramel, which I curtly grabbed and threw out the window. Just a safety precaution.
Our precarious eating sparked little conversation from the happy couple in front, the only stared at us awkwardly from the rearview mirror like this was normal.
Jellal drove while aimlessly humming to the latest Beyonce album, which was by the way absolutely fantastic, as Sting and I counted the number of stickers on the roof of Jellal's car from his various trips to the doctor's office.
"I like this one. It says get well spoon and there's a picture of a spoon." I pointed out.
"Nice." Sting agreed.
"Juvia, make sure you say close to us at the dance, ok? I don't want anything inappropriate happening." Erza specified, giving Sting her painfully accurate glare.
Sting burst out laughing, tears and all. Thanks buddy.
"Maybe the same should be said for you two nasties." I shot back. Jellal laughed a little and Erza only rolled her eyes.
"Please. I can handle myself, you however, are sure to attract one or two drunk assholes." Erza informed me, in a somewhat motherly tone.
"Don't you worry red. I'll kick anyone and everyone's ass who tries to poke Juvia in places only Gra – I can." Sting covered up his half-assed mistake sloppily. I pinched his thigh with as much anger as I felt – which was a lot, considering my recent indirect rejection.
Erza's eyes narrowed knowingly. God dammit. Jellal also fidgeted uncomfortably. Does fucking everybody in the entire universe know I have a thing for Gray except for Gray?
"Ahah – so anyway," I searched for a relevant subject change. "…Do you guys like...snakes?"
Jellal wrinkled his nose. "Snakes? Juvia, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Snakes? You know, little, reptilian wormy guys who sometimes spit acid, and-"
"Juvia," Sting advised, shaking his head. "You've said enough."
Frankly, I agreed. I don't know why, snakes were just my go-to subject when I thought too hard about Gray, and how perfect he is. That and the weather.
After we walked eleven miles to the high school gym where prom was being held (theme, a starry night, I know, we're so fucking original and goddamned unique), and we only had to walk that far because both Jellal and Erza were terrified of idiot drunk teen drivers and insisted that we park far enough away so we won't risk a fender-bender.
"Why heels…" I moaned as Sting pulled me through the entrance to prom. After we turned in our tickets (which cost 40.00 fucking dollars, thanks capitalism), we were left to witness the peak of what the media told me my high school career would be. A dark, thumping room with indistinguishable moving bodies and sweaty, sweaty teens.
"Fuck my asshole with a wristwatch." Sting groaned, pulling me by the waist towards the back of the gym. "This place is like hell. Sweaty, hormonal, hell."
"Hell smells like beer." I observed. Erza and Jellal looked just as unimpressed.
"This place is a total dump." Erza said distastefully, flicking over a crappy stand-up of a plastic star.
The ceiling was decorated with tiny whitish lights, probably trying to be stars, but they looked more like glow worms and didn't do anything to lighten the mood.
"Why is everyone…rubbing everyone else…?" Jellal observed, squinting into the crowd with a scared expression.
"Poor, innocent, attractive boy." Sting commented dryly. "This is the height of adolescence."
"Let's pretend you didn't just say that." Erza rasped. Sting was treading in dangerous waters of Erza's jealousy. He narrowly avoided her wrath and turned back to me.
"So, what do you say, Juvia? Wanna throw away our inhibitions and dance in the pit of writhing bodies?" Sting asked me, kissing my hand and doing his best to make the dance floor sound as unappetizing as possible.
"I do love suffering." I told him with a smile.
"You and I both." He agreed, pulling me close and leading me to the mountain of sweaty flesh. Excellent.
"Have fun you two." Jellal waved as Sting escorted me away.
"Not too much fun." Erza chastised quickly. I shot her a finger gun and she shook her head at me. My beautiful mother.
"C'mon. Let's forget all about douchebuster and scope out the scene." Sting suggested to me. That sounded nice. Forgetting about Gray. Impossible, but nice.
"And I'll make you forget about your emo boy toy," I returned the favor, swinging his arms out and practically throwing him into the crowd of people.
He laughed. "You're on."
.
.
.
You don't really realize how much time passes until you've sent a good amount of it with Sting. He really understands how to waste it in the best way possible, whether it be asking clearly wasted kids who their pick for president was, or requesting horrible 90s songs to the DJ who was out of his league and age group to be DJ-ing for a high school prom.
I think the only weird thing about prom was that because the lighting was so shitty and the music was so loud, all of my senses became immediately impaired, and I relied completely on Sting for direction and focus. If I had released his arm for even one second, I probably would've drifted off into the crowd like a twig in the ocean, never to be seen again by the eyes of my friends.
Speaking of friends, I'd spotted a grand total of none of them while dancing with Sting. Seriously, everyone was so unrecognizable when they were mashed together with everyone else like vomit soup.
"Ugh Juvia…I'm tired," Sting moaned into my neck as the dancing in the room had pretty much been reduced to low-key swaying. The energy levels were low as everyone had either partied themselves out or were just drunk off their asses. Sting and I had just resorted to a sort of slow-dance that allowed us to both relax all the while gossiping to each other.
"Me too. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might be sick of hearing the song Fergalicious." I told him sadly. He cracked a smile, seeing how he was the one who had requested it three times in a row.
"It's a sad day for mankind." He replied. The song that was currently playing was only a tiny bit upbeat, not slow enough to be a slow dance, but not fast enough to prompt actual energy. If I didn't know any better, it was almost like the air was coated in a level of axe body spray and jello, making movement much harder than it should be.
"Thanks for tonight, Sting…" I mumbled halfheartedly. "You made it a lot of fun."
"I know I did, I'm great." He answered me thankfully. "You're welcome, Via."
I leaned my head against his chest, which smelt a little bit like the spiked punch and a little bit like teenage boy. Excellent. My favorite scent.
Despite the scented irony, I really did enjoy myself. Sting knew how to get me to have a good time, even in the least desirable of situations. I loved him a lot, and I'd missed him a lot when I went off to college, and he went off to wherever the hell he was going, I don't know, maybe he could work at H&M or something.
Even though Sting was much taller than me, with the added height (and severe pain) of my heels, I could see over his shoulder. And for the first time that night, I recognized someone I knew. Or, sort of knew, I guess.
It was that guy. I completely forgot his name, I don't know, maybe Shadow the Hedgehog. The guy Sting liked, the one who rejected Sting. He was pretty cute I guess, with low-cut black hair that was tied into a ponytail. He was dancing with a girl with cropped bluish white hair, sort of like Lisanna.
Sting hadn't noticed him, considering he was facing the other direction. I watched the girl shadow boy was dancing with part with him slowly and go to dance with a girl, maybe her friend, maybe her girlfriend. I couldn't be sure. The important thing was, Sting's eye candy was alone.
My hands tensed. After everything Sting had done for Gray and I, regardless of its success, flashed before my eyes. Calling me to tell me about Gray's warning, going to the pool at the hotel the night of the tournament, everything. I owed him. I fucking owed him so damned much.
"Sting," I whispered quietly. "Look."
He turned his head to acknowledge that I'd said something worthwhile, and then immediately made a face like he was going to puke, except it was a happy puke. I think.
"Rogue…he looks so good in a tux, god I'm ready to die…" he groaned while hiding his face. Huh. Rogue. You know what? I'm giving myself partial credit for that one. Shadow and Rogue are close enough on the name spectrum.
"You should ask him to dance," I hinted bravely, smiling mischievously and nudging him in the direction. His face mirrored confusion and excitement, like I'd offered a threesome between myself, him and Gray. Which, now that I think about it, he would totally accept without a moment's hesitation. Nasty.
"But…I…you…" he gestured blankly at the space between us and I shrugged.
"Trust me, I'll live without you for a few minutes. Or more..." I added cheekily.
He acknowledged my cheekiness with a grin of his own. "Are you sure you'll be ok without me? I am smart, beautiful, and talented…a lack of my presence may cause you some withdrawal symptoms…"
I made a half-laugh half-choking sound before pushing him away. "Just get out of here, nerd."
He saluted me before sauntering off towards Rogue, as if to say you haven't seen the last of me, which was undoubtedly true. As if on cue, slow, tantalizing music began to play from the DJ booth, and thus began the very first dance of Sting and Rogue.
Cute. So one person actually gets a chance with their meta-crush. I can live with that.
I slowly pulled away from the crowd, like a sad preteen realizing she had no place at the popular kids table. The sad, emo life of Juvia Lockser ended like it began. A mistake that destroyed the lives of two irresponsible teens.
Ok, so that metaphor didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to. They can't all be winners.
Maybe I could linger by the punch bowls and watch kids throw back punch shots like they were throwing away their chance at a good college. Teenage suffering did bring me joy. Watching other people throw shots might make me feel a bit better about throwing away my shot with Gray in the long run, too.
Man. Tonight was just one big mega shit show for me.
At least all my friends were happy. Sting and Rogue. Gajeel and Levy. Lucy and Natsu. Lisanna and what's-his-name. Kinana and that living shitstain. Erza and Jellal.
And in the end, that's all that really matters, right? That everyone around me is happy. Even if I have to stand in the middle of it all and want to die.
Right. Juvia Lockser, friendship martyr. Sounds about accurate.
I felt something sharp tap my bare shoulder blade and I about lost my shit. It's one thing to get tapped in the dark, and another thing to get tapped in the dark while being lost in your teenage angst thoughts.
"Juvia! Oh thank god!"
I was met with the shocking green eyes of Meredy, as she fiddled with her hands uncomfortably. What was she doing alone? Where was Gray?
My body went into overdrive. With Gray Fullbuster on the loose, there was a keen possibility that I could be ambushed at any moment. And I'll be completely honest, I really cannot handle another mentally taxing situation today.
"Meredy? Hi! What are you…I mean, why are you…?" I stumbled over my words like a moron, and she laughed it off, sweeping her hands over my shoulders and steering me into the back of the gymnasium.
"I've been looking for you! You know, my feet really hurt and I was hoping you could take the reigns with Gray for a bit…just while I massage my feet, ya know, typical…" She laughed hysterically and shoved me into the folded up bleachers with a sharp slam. My spine went a tiny bit numb from the force and it kind of felt like more of an interrogation than a simple dance request.
"Wait right here while I get him!" She demanded, jabbing her finger at me and then dashing off, proving to me that her feet must've not felt all that bad if she was able to run like an Olympian on a moment's notice. Interesting.
Before I could stand by the bleachers like an idiot waiting for death, I scoped out every exit. One close to my left, the other on my right much farther away and much less optimal. Perfect, if Gray even so much as flipped his hair in my direction, I'd be able to run away and escape. It was completely foolproof!
Lucky for the plot, I was much more than a fool. I was a foolish fool.
"She sure runs fast for a girl in heels."
My head spun around like Mary fucking Poppins at the sound of Gray's teasing voice. Dear lord, how did he manage to look like a deity in the shitty lighting of the gymnasium? He even smelled great, and that was near impossible within the proximity of prom.
"No kidding." I whispered hollowly. Had he been standing there the whole time? Watching me bob my head around like a dumbass?
"She's really determined though, I've gotta admit…" he dipped his head and smiled. I found it quite infectious and smiled back. "She didn't kill your date, did she?"
I shook my head. "No, he just found the person he'd rather be dancing with…" my head shifted back to the crowd and he nodded in understanding.
"That's too bad, although I can hardly imagine the thought of you being repulsive…" He flirted, making me want to claw my eyeballs out with a rake. Was he fucking high? I should murder him for torturing me like this. I didn't fucking deserve this. I demand reparations for all the damaged body organs and human emotions he'd caused me, dammit.
"I may surprise you, I can be pretty repulsive…" I convinced, raising my eyebrows suggestively before letting them fall in embarrassment.
He sighed deeply and held one arm out. "Then let's find out."
The fuck is that supposed to mean?
He held his arm out more rigid this time, fingers splayed openly and acceptingly.
Oh god. Oh god.
Before my mind could make any half-intelligent battle strategy, I dumbly reached forward and accepted his inviting hand, letting him clasp my forearm gently and pull it to his upper chest. My fingers curled and probably shook like leaves in winter as he slowly reached out and grabbed my other, dormant hand, and pulled it over the back of his neck, which was surprisingly warm.
Fucking shit, Juvia Lockser is going to die tonight.
I swallowed hard as his hand twirled around my waist, leaving a blazing hot trail of fiery nerves and his other hand took mine that had been resting on his chest.
Oh god. This was happening. I was going to slow dance with Gray and I was definitely going to die trying.
"Loosen up," he suggested calmly as he began drifting us closer to the meld of couples, swaying back and forth to the hypnotic beat, meanwhile I was hypnotized by the way his eyes flickered in the horrible gym lighting.
I was fucked. I didn't even realize how fucked I was until then – I had been fucked since freshmen year, reading his stupid global warming essay. I was fuckity fucked like a squirrel in a trash compactor.
I tried my best to obey his request, to just fucking loosen up (without peeing myself, obviously. He is so perfect I'm going to faint), but I could barely contain the stiffness of my entire body as he fruitlessly tried dancing with my frozen mannequin limbs.
"Just trust me, Juvia…" He laughed, dangerously close to my ear as I felt my emotions begin to subconsciously pour out of my eyeballs like emotional ebola.
"I'm dying." I said back to him, like the fucked-up melted brain person that he always managed to reduce me to whenever he came close.
He laughed. Huh. He thinks I'm joking.
His hand on my waist was making me sweat as he continued to dance like nothing was wrong. We were just friends, after all, as he so generously loved to remind me. Just two buds having the fucking time of their life slow-dancing together. Seems legitimate enough.
"Other than ditching you, is Sting treating you well?" He asked, keeping his tone fairly civil as he avoided any and all eye contact on the topic of my date.
"Of course. You?" I responded, finding my voice as I desperately thought of anything but that fact that we were close enough to feel each other's breathing.
He nodded solemnly, keeping his eye up in search of Meredy, most likely to make sure she wasn't up to any more shenanigans.
"Gray, uh…listen…" I started despite my inhibitions telling me to shut the fuck up and keep my annoying thoughts to myself. His attention was immediately diverted to me, dark eyes hooded with intent. I swallowed again and felt my eyes begin to water. I'm so stupid, Juvia just shut the fuck up…
"So I'm…like…really…" I stammered, pressing my lips together in shame. "…happy, for you…I mean, with your college and all! Like…I'm super proud, and I…sorry." I apologized for my awkwardness. I looked up at him and instead of seeing what I was expecting, a dorky smile of appreciation, I got a grim look of thanks.
"Juvia…" He said, so soft I almost didn't hear it. Oh fuck me. Why doesn't he just stab me already…? Just, get it the fuck over with…
"So anyways what's your favorite type of snake?" I asked him, sniffing to cover up the fact that my pathetic ass had literally almost started crying while trying to spit out that stupid sentence expressing my pride in him. He was so good, so pure, he deserved the whole world.
And I was just the crazy chick with a crush, and an agenda.
"Snake?" He asked in confusion. I barely heard him. My hand was hot against his, I was probably sweating while he easily led the dance, but at this point, I'd abandoned all senses and simply zeroed in on him. Everything we'd been through for the past few months, the smiles, the laughs, the embarrassment (completely on my part by the way), the emotions I felt for him…
Oh dear fucking god. I loved Gray Fullbuster. And not the kind of 'wow I love this french fry, it's really well cooked and nice and it's better than all the rest'. No. this was the kind of full-blown love you get on the cover of a Nicholas Sparks movie starring Ryan Gosling and any hot actress, ever.
I was in love with Gray, and there wasn't jack shit I could do about it.
Well.
I mean, there was one thing.
In the midst of thinking, and Gray confusedly looking to the sky as he probably thought of which snake was his favorite in the world, I thought of all the times I'd wanted to grab him and kiss him on his stupid lips, the time he saved my ass from Evergreen, every cheeky smile and almost flirtatious banter.
If Gray Fullbuster wanted to kill me, he'd done a damn good job of sealing the deal.
With my heels on, I could just barely reach him. The mood was set. My intentions were clear. We were both seriously fucked over our asses with this shit.
I felt like prom had completely disappeared when his eyes finally met back with mine. They were calm, serene, maybe even a little bit bewildered with the way I was looking at him.
Whatever. My emotions had completely murdered my brain at the front seat and had taken the wheel. Jesus couldn't even save me now.
I leaned in, taking the hand I had around his neck firmly planted on his cheek, and kissed his stupid mouth on his stupid ugly beautiful face.
It wasn't like books. It wasn't fireworks and explosions and dandelion children singing in the distance. It was just me, him, the smell of his cologne and my faded perfume. It was his soft lips against mine, they felt like melted chocolate chips as they shifted in confusion against mine. But I knew what I wanted, and all I could possibly want in that moment was for him to feel exactly what I felt, right then and there.
I had to make it short, I was already out of breath and I could feel his hands sliding around my waist, holding me close to him and refusing to let me slip away like I really, really wanted to.
I relinquished my grip on his cheek and gradually pulled my lips away from his, but not fully escaping his grip. My lips hovered near his for a moment longer, tempted to kiss his ugly perfect mouth one more time, because he tasted like the stars (the real stars, not the ugly flickering ones taped to the ceiling), but instead, like a parting gift, I darted forward and kissed his cheek.
Then, I felt the fucking weight of the world hit my shoulders like the big bang and all hell broke loose.
As in, me forcefully shoving Gray off of me like he had contracted the black death and then me tripping backwards like a fuckass.
Gray's eyes opened sleepily, like my kiss had put him in a trance, before he realized fully what I'd done. The shock was written on his face, a sheer document of terror and disorientation
I'd ruined what little fragments of our friendship had remained. I'd just lost Gray.
With that little, heart-shattering detail in mind, I turned around and full on sprinted out of the gymnasium like Forrest Gump on steroids.
Everything disappeared but my swirling thoughts, and the vague sound of what seemed like someone calling my name. Probably just me spiraling into insanity, who knows.
What had I done. What had I done.
The sound of my feet hitting pavement shocked me back into reality, and so did Gray. His voice echoed like my own doom calling out to me. He was just saying my name, over and over again. What could he possibly want from me that he hadn't already taken?
Frustrated, I kicked off my heels and grabbed them, significantly boosting my speed as I made my getaway.
Except I didn't have a car, or really any plans of escape other than straight up bolting.
There was no way I could outrun Gray. I mean, I was strong and had pretty good stamina, but I was damn lazy, my feet hurt from being confined to death traps all day and dancing, and I knew for a fact Gray never skipped leg day.
Don't ask me how I knew that.
He would catch up to me within the minute, and then no doubt tell me how horrible I was and how stupid I was for ever thinking I had a chance with him.
My only idea, and my only chance, was equally stupid as it was childish.
Instead of running ahead to the parking lot, where Gray probably expected me to, I took a freak turn in the direction of the woods next to the school.
Right. The pot woods. Where kids went to get drunk and maybe even creepily lose their virginities. Incredible idea Juvia, you fucking idiot.
But then again, it wasn't like brilliant ideas were popping out of me today.
Gray's voice became a bit fainter as I felt twigs crunch under my feet, long with sickeningly sharp pine needles. Ugh, I was gonna regret that in the morning.
Actually…I was going to regret a lot in the morning…
Nonetheless, I stopped dead in my tracks by the time I was a good twenty feet into the woods, and then I grabbed the nearest pine tree branch and yanked myself upwards, perhaps ruining my beautiful prom dress and sapping myself like an idiot.
You do crazy things when you're in love.
You also do crazy things when you've just fucked up so bad you've possibly even ruined the lives of your own grandchildren.
I scaled the tree higher and higher until finally, I had a nice enough view of the high school, and I could safely hug my sappy knees to my chest and bawl my fucking eyes out silently, like the pathetic loser I always knew I was.
Gray's voice was carried away with the wind as he searched for me in the wrong direction. All I wanted now was to just forget him, to never see him or worry about his smiling face ever again.
But at this point, I doubted I'd ever be able to wipe the feel of his lips against mine from my memory. It was seared into my brain like a brand, DO NOT FORGET, the ultimate death sentence.
So this is it, huh Juvia? Stuck in a tree and crying your eyes out?
My eyelids began to burn, probably from all the product that was leaking onto my face and into my sticky hands. I was a mess if there ever was one.
I had just ruined one of the best friendships of my life, and for what? A few sparkling, beautiful moments where I finally felt close enough to Gray to truly show him how I felt, how I always felt?
It wasn't worth it. I'd rather spend a lifetime in pain beside him than a lifetime of closure without him.
Juvia Lockser, idiot supreme, had just lost Gray Fullbuster.
And all because of a fucking kiss.
I'm so dead.
.
.
.
hello children it's murder time
also I lied about the gruvia kiss in the beginning. youre welcome everyone, you got your FUCKING kiss
are u happy now :)
bc i am :)
remember this is a hap hap birthday present to my dearie dear friends vishwa and mellylissa, they're both v cool ppl whom I love with all my satanic, empty heart, and u should follow them both (marinetters and merudys on tumblr ;)
hope u guys enjoy and don't mind that im skipping review responses bc a.) im exhausted and b.) ily guys so much I cant put it into words :0
final thoughts – due to popular request and the fact that im a slave to my readers, the next chapter is going to be COMPLETELY from Gray's pov…you guys asked for it, and now you're getting it ;)
as always if u have any questions/concerns DONT BE AFRAID TO PM ME or send metumblr asks n stuff!
hope u guys dont hate me now and bye bye