Turf Wars

Chapter 13- Denial (Gray-Juvia)

I don't own Fairy Tail, but enjoy.

I'm sorry it's been so long, but I promise to have at least one more chapter up by Monday. There will be a total of 19 actual chapters then one bonus chapter to end it at 20 even. Also, I was somewhat lazy and didn't fully proofread this chapter because I just wanted to get it uploaded for you all asap.

….

Gray wasn't really doing badly in his classes, not bad enough anyway to care about a free 'A' but this was a chance of a life time to run in Natsu's face if he won. And with that thought, he ran on, Juvia right behind him. But like Natsu, he more or less had forgotten the word they were given and the reason for being on the island. Juvia sensed this as she caught a glimpse of concentration with a hint of cockiness on his face as they ran, following the path.

They had started out on the same path as the others but the second Gray caught a glimpse of another path, he took, attempting to diverge from the pack. It was a winding path that wrapped around the mountain but luckily was not as dangerous as Juvia had initially thought. Still, she watched her footing. A fall now would probably slow her down tremendously and she didn't want Gray to lose because of her.

As they ran along the path she thought some about their word. Denial. Were they both in denial about something? She had a good hint as to what she was in denial about, but what could he be in denial about. Like Natsu, he wore most of his emotions on his sleeve, leaving little to infer. His past wasn't a big secret either. There was little that people didn't know about him.

She hadn't told anyone her secret, but Lisanna had more or less guessed it not too long ago when the two of them ran into each other at the mall and ended up hanging out for a while. It wasn't hard to guess when they kept 'accidently' bumping into Gray. Juvia was in love. She hated it too. She wanted to hate Gray and had for some time because of the rivalry. But after it faded and everyone started getting along she realized she liked him.

That was her denial. She denied liking him because of the rivalry but in the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't true. But what was his denial?

Could it be that he liked her too? Or did he like Natsu despite saying he hates the 'pink haired dick-wipe' as he so colorfully describes him? Either way, Juvia hoped that she would get the chance to find out on this trip.

…

The path eventually led them back into the forest before they both realized they had gone the wrong way. The duo weren't far in when they realized the ground was slopping downward and turned to head back. But the path was gone.

"What the hell?" Gray called as he pushed bushed to the side, looking for the path they had been on not a minute ago. But he found nothing. "What the hell is wrong with this forest?"

"Juvia doesn't know what happened either, but we know what direction we came from. We can just push through the brush," the blue haired girl suggested.

Gray grumbled his agreement and started trudging through the underbrush. But still the didn't leave the forest. In fact, they were lost in only a couple minutes.

"What in the hell is wrong with this forest!?" Gray yelled at the trees as he stopped trying to push through them. They had gone the way they came and somehow ended up further in the woods and couldn't see the mountain through the canopy.

Juvia stood there, not knowing what to do about the situation so she kept quiet and tried to think of something as Gray stomped around, his arms waving wildly.

Her head tilted back as she tried to find some break in the trees she heard a rustling in the ferns behind her. Turning around she let out a scream as she ran toward Gray, grabbing his arm and dragging him behind her.

Gray was caught off guard and stumbled around until he caught a glimpse of what was chasing them, then he picked up his pace as the two ran through the brush, a large boar on their tails. Gray caught a glimpse of a tree with low enough branches to climb and ushered Juvia in that direction. He caught on and took a running leap at the lower branch. She wrapped her hands around it and tried to swing her legs up but didn't have enough momentum. Gray pushed her feet up on to the branch before jumping up to one himself. Pulling himself up with his upper body, he felt the rush of air as the boar ran under him, nearly catching his leg. The two caught their breath for a split second before climbing up higher into the tree.

When they were a little more than half way up they stopped and sat down, catching their breath and watching the boar circle the tree, occasionally rubbing his tusks on the bark. Gray let out a gargled laugh as he watched the boar, his nerves on end.

"That was close," she said with a relieved sigh.

"Yeah," Gray said as he got up. "The thing ain't gonna leave us alone so lets just climb through the trees, we'll be able to see the mountain this way." The teen climbed up a couple more branches then started scooting himself along on that reached out toward another tree.

Juvia watched in slight horror as the branch started pulling down, a cracking sound coming from somewhere along it. But Gray quickly jumped onto the other tree's branch and held onto a branch that was above his head for balance. "I think I see the mountain!" he called as Juvia started to follow.

The two kept close eye on their footing and on the boar below them that started to follow them when it realized that they were switching trees. They had climbed through almost ten trees when they stopped at one. It was thinner than the others, but it was the only way left to go. Gray took the first step onto it and moved out of the way for Juvia. They had to go around the tree trunk to get to the other tree but below it was a pond, and it looked deep. Gray watched his footing as he tried to stay close to the trunk, where the branches were thickest, his arms wrapped around the trunk for support.

"Careful," Juvia said as she watched him edge around toward the branch to get to the next tree. She glanced down at the boar that was watching them with beady eyes.

Gray had reached the branch and was making his way along it when Juvia caught a glimpse of movement below them. The boar was turning away from them. "Gray the boar is leaving us!" she called to her partner enthusiastically. He glanced toward the creature as it entered into the tree line and disappeared. He grinned and kept moving along the branch.

As he reached the end of it and went to grab the other tree's branch, a resounding thud traveled through the tree and rocked the branch.

Juvia let out a scream as Gray lost his balance and fell, his head hitting a lower branch. The blue haired teen watch him fall, his eyes closed as he hit the water below. She started climbing down, but stopped about ten feet from the ground, the boar was watching the water. It hadn't left, it just gathered momentum to hit the tree hard enough. Juvia watched Gray's body slip below the surface as she flung her book bag off and jumped into the water after him.

When her eyes opened, it was murky, but she could make out Gray's body hitting the bottom of the pond about four feet below her. Her body surfaced and she took a deep breath then dived down. Grabbing the boy by his hands she kicked off the bottom and readjusted him as she swam up so that she had an arm under his shoulder. The two heads broke the surface and she gasped for air, but he remained still. Looking up she saw the boar watching them. She glanced back at Gray and noticed the back of his head was bleeding from where it hit the branch.

The boar watched them for a moment more before turning and leaving again. Juvia watched hesitantly, waiting for it to come charging back but it never did. She slowly made her way toward the shore, her eyes still peeled for the boar as she laid Gray down. He still hadn't moved and Juvia started freaking out. She wasn't prepared for this. The principal didn't mention that they might die on this trip. She looked around and called out for help, but if anyone heard her, they weren't coming.

The senior bent down and listened to the boy's heartbeat. It was faint, but there. Taking a deep breath she stilled her nerves and started CPR. She pressed with all her weight down on the boy's chest as she tried to wake him up.

"Come on, please, don't die. I don't think I can take it," she cried as she continued to pump her arms on his chest. "Please don't die, I love you," she whispered as she pumped harder.

A faint movement of his head caught her attention. "Gray!" she called as the boy rolled onto his side and vomited water. He looked up at her with crossed eyes before falling back down.

"My head hurts," he mumbled. Juvia jumped up and ran to get her book bag. Plopping it down next to her she pulled out her extra shirt. She slowly pulled the boy into a sitting position so she could tie the shirt around his head to help with the bleeding.

He let out a small groan when she tightened the shirt as he collapsed onto her, his head resting on her chest. "You're warm," he coughed out.

Juvia sat there, stuck between embarrassed over what he said and because his head was resting on her chest and worry. She couldn't get him through this forest by herself, especially with the boar still around. He needed medical attention. She sat with him for about half an hour before helping him up, reminding him that they had to get to the top of the mountain.

She helped him, unsteadily, to his feet before grabbing her book bag and slinging his arm over her shoulder and heading toward the mountain, her wet clothes leaving a trail of water droplets behind her.

…

Juvia had managed to get Gray and herself up a good portion of the mountain before having to stop and take a break. Her clothes had dried partially in the sun, but her sneakers were still soaked and her shorts were starting to chaff. Setting Gray down, she stood and stretched before walking over to see the options for getting to the top. She had already abandoned all hope of getting to the top first. After surveying the options, she headed back toward the boy. He was sitting, his eyes closed as he gingerly felt the back of his head.

"How do you feel?" Juvia asked as she sat down next to him, checking the knot of the bandage. Luckily it wasn't soaked with blood like she feared it would be.

"My head feels heavy, but other than that, I think I can make it on my own now," he replied, dropping his hand and opening his eyes to survey the area. "What next?" he asked.

"There is a path that leads to the top, but it looks narrow and dangerous. But I don't see any other way."

"Then let's get going. If we don't come in first, we might as well not come in last," he said as he slowly lowered himself up.

Juvia let out a nervous sigh as they headed up the path. She took the lead because she didn't trust Gray's reflexes to be quick enough to avoid falling off if he hit a bad spot on the path. Up they went, her feet testing the path before she stepped but her mind was stuck thinking about what she said to Gray. She actually admitted to loving him. Her face heated up at the thought of it. It seemed like he didn't hear her say it though since he hadn't mentioned anything.

"Juvia!" Gray called as he reached his hand out, wrapping his fingers around the girl's arm as she fell, the rocks beneath her feet tumbling free from their spots on the mountain. The girl hung over the edge of the mountain, a good sized drop below her. Gray was holding onto her one arm with his two, a pained look on his face. There wasn't much room on the path for him to keep his balance and the strain was sending bursts of pain through his body as his head throbbed. Juvia let out a small scream as her free arm searched for a hold, her feet as searching for anything to put weight on to help relieve the sense of having nothing below. She found a couple holds and steadied her breath. Slowly, she pushed herself up, swinging a leg over the edge of the cliff with Gray pulling her up. They both let out a sigh of relief when she was back on the ledge. He wrapped her up in a tight hug, catching her off guard at first, but she reciprocated, squeezing him just as tight.

They sat like that for a minute before Juvia felt the hot breath on her neck. "I heard what you said, back at the pond," Gray said quietly, his voice almost sad.

The blue haired girl sucked in a breath.

"I love you too," he said, lifting his head to rest his forehead on hers. "That was my denial."

Juvia felt a couple tears well up in her eyes as she cupped his cheek in her hand, a small sob escaping her. Her emotions and nerves had been tested too far today and the stress buildup caught up to her. More tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried shamelessly in front of her crush.

Gray sat there with her, a small smile on his face. He was alive because of her and she because of him. He gave her forehead a kiss and pulled her into his chest, letting her continue to cry. He didn't blame her after everything that happened. It wasn't until her sobs finally subsided that he said they should continue. She whipped her face off with the bottom of her shirt before slowly standing.

The two continued along the path until the peak of the mountain could be seen. Just below it was a large landing were Laxus could be seen. "Almost there," Juvia said happily as she continued to lead the way.