"See you later Scarlet?" He called after her, although he didn't know why. She turned back for a moment, her eye reflecting something dark.
"My name is Erza." She spat. "Learn it."
She disappeared around a corner, and Gray stumbled over to the board, searching for his dorm number and his roommate.
Natsu Dragneel, room 7.
Erza fingered the strap of her bag nervously as she stared at her room number. So far the institution had seemed nice, plush and comfy. It didn't seem like the kind of place where people came because they had 'issues' as her Mother had put it. Erza self consciously put her hand up to her hair, making sure her hair still covered her right eye.
She knocked before entering, just to be safe. There was no sound on the other side, but the door opened anyways. A young girl, probably about thirteen stood nervously in the doorway. She had long blue hair tied up neatly in pigtails, big brown eyes that looked much too large for her small face.
"Hello." Erza greeted, "I'm your new roommate." The girl nodded, and retreated back into the room, leaving the door open for Erza to enter. The room wasn't large, big enough for two twin beds, two desks, two wardrobes and a smaller closed off area for the bathroom. The small girl had already claimed the left bed, marking her place by a small white seashell shaped lamp, and a white cat, which snoozed peacefully on the bed. Erza raised a scarlet eyebrow, but decided not to comment.
"My name is Erza." Erza introduced herself, sticking out a hand. The girl took it and shook, and then paused. Erza waited for her to say her name as well, but the girl remained silent. She smiled at her again, and showed her a luggage tag she had in her pocket. "Nice to meet you… Wendy." Erza read off, and the girl bobbed her head, before retreating back to her bed, leaving her to unpack.
Erza decided not to comment on how she didn't make a sound, and made an assumption that was why she was here. Everyone had to have a reason right? She opened her bag, blocking it's contents from Wendy's brown eyes. She unloaded her three skirts and two sweaters, putting them away neatly in the wardrobe. Her spare set of shoes, a pair of sturdy boots she'd crafted by hand she placed in front of her bed. The bag of eye patches, the only thing she'd ever gotten from her Mother, was quickly shoved inside her pillowcase.
She took out her one personal item she had left from her Uncle, a small carved brown box with her name on the front in curling letters. She placed it on her bedside table, tracing her fingers over the top.
"Hey Wen!" A male voice snapped her out of her methodical unpacking. A pink haired boy threw open the door and bounded into the room. He enveloped Wendy in a hug. "Sorry I couldn't come by earlier, had to unpack." He let go of Wendy. Only then did he notice another presence in the room. Turning with excitement in his onyx eyes he surveyed the newcomer with glee. "I'm Natsu!" he said playfully, shoving his hand in her face. "Wendy's older brother." Erza looked at him in doubt.
Him and Wendy looked nothing alike. Wendy had blue hair and brown eyes, and he had pink and black. Still, something about the look in their eyes, the way they held themselves told Erza they were indeed related.
"Erza." She introduced, smiling slightly to show him she was friendly.
"Do you like books?" he asked abruptly and randomly.
"Yes..?" Erza said uncertainly. She did like books, when she could get them. Natsu grinned again, and she found that he had a nice smile.
"I know just the people you need to be friends with!" He said proudly, "Levy is gonna be ecstatic." Wendy nodded as well.
"Perhaps." Was all she said. She wasn't to sure about making friends yet, although not everyone seemed like the sulky raven haired boy on the train. Maybe they all were this kind and outgoing.
"See you later!" He called, and Erza stiffened. See you later Scarlet. She hardly knew him and already this 'Gray Fullbuster' was grating on her nerves. Running her fingers through her hair, she considered the drawing he'd sketched of her. It had been exact in her likeness; the details making her look startlingly… alone. She flopped back down on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. It didn't smell like her house had, like alcohol and cigarettes. Something in her was grateful that it only smelled like laundry detergent.
Gray's roommate wasn't in the room when he got there. One bed was obviously taken, with flame bedspreads and pictures hung on the billboard, the wardrobe already bursting open with clothes and random junk. Gray unloaded his stuff, shoving his clothes messily into the wardrobe, throwing the sweater Ultear had knit for him out of 'kindness' out into the hall, setting his sketchbook and colored pencils carefully on the desk, taking out the picture of his Mother and setting it on the nightstand.
He laid back on his carefully made Fairy Tail bedspread, and closed his eyes, not even bothering to take off his boots. Although a strange breeze on his chest told him he'd taken off his shirt. Groaning, thanking god he didn't strip on the train, he searched for it.
"Who the hell are you?" A rather rude voice questioned, and Gray turned around, his mind already on the defensive. The owner of the voice was a pink haired boy with black eyes, who was glaring at Gray something fierce.
"The person who lives here dumbass." Gray spat out.
"I live here droopy eyes!" The boy shouted, stepping closer to Gray. Gray stepped closer as well, his eyes narrowing.
"So you're the flame brain I have to room with?"
"Well at least I'm fiery and hot, you're all cold!"
"Ouch. Was that actually supposed to be an insult or are you just to stupid to think of something actually clever?"
"Oh yeah? Are you calling me stupid?"
"So what if I am?"
"You wanna go?
"You really don't want to play with me-"
"OMIGOD ARE YOU GUYS KISSING?" a loud female voice shrieked. Gray and Natsu sprang apart, shouting denials and the blonde woman standing in the doorway laughed. "I'm just joking." She assured them, and Gray realized it was Lucy from the platform. The boy scowled at her.
"Why are you in here?" he asked her, and she rolled her eyes.
"Like you need a reason to come into my room." She pointed out. "Why are you being mean to the newbie?"
"He started it!" the boy protested.
"Whatever Natsu." Lucy said, rolling her eyes. Natsu looked offended, and Gray noticed the way he didn't look her in the eyes. "I was just stopping by to make sure you heard the dinner bell ring." They hadn't. "Gray you can sit with us!" Lucy said cheerily, and before he could protest she was dragging him away by the arm.
Lucy led him to the mess hall easily, and it was clear she knew her way around the school pretty well. He froze when he saw who was sitting at the table she was dragging him to.
Erza smiled shyly at her plate when Mirajane asked her how her day was. "Fine." The redhead answered quietly, accepting her helping of mashed potatoes and noodles. She had come down with Wendy, and the blunette pointed to the table they were to be sitting at. It was on the edge of the lunchroom, and already had another blue haired girl sitting at it.
"You must be the new girl!" The girl said when Erza sat down next to Wendy, across the table from her. "I'm Levy!"
"Erza." She said, extending her hand to shake. Levy smiled brightly, and then went rattling on about everyone Erza was about to meet. Erza merely nodded, and quietly ate her food.
"I'll get you some dinner. You aren't allergic to anything are you?" a loud bubbly voice spoke up from behind them. Erza turned around, and was faced with the pleasurable sight of Gray Fullbuster being dragged across the cafeteria by a blonde girl. It became less pleasurable when the girl dumped him in the seat next to her.
"So we meet again." He greeted her in a sarcastic voice. She rolled her eyes and focused her one eyed gaze back on her plate, ignoring his presence even though his almost icy smell penetrated her nose.
"You must be Gray!" Levy bubbled, "Lucy told me you met at the train station!" Gray nodded in confirmation, although his ears are a bit red and she can tell he'd rather be sitting by himself.
"Levy?" She spoke up, deciding that she'd save him from Levy's infectious chatter. His navy eyes looked at her in surprise, like he was shocked she would do something for another person. "When do we get our schedules?"
"Tomorrow! But we get told our partners tonight!"
"Partners?" She questioned, her eyebrows drawing together. She didn't know much about the school at all, having never gotten a brochure from her Stepfather. Like he actually looked at one when he shoved her off to this place. Shaking her head firmly to clear of such thoughts, she focused her attention on Levy, waiting for the bluenettes answer. However, it was Gray who spoke first.
"It's the one person you can 'trust'." He said, putting quotation marks around the word. "It's supposed to be an automatic friend thing. You have all the same classes, the same lunch hours, same free time…everything." She looked at him with her good eye, raising an eyebrow. "My sister force fed me the manual." He explained, as Lucy returned. Natsu was trailing behind her, but Erza couldn't help but notice the way his onyx eyes avoiding the blonde.
"Do you all already have one?" Erza questioned, and this time the blonde, who Erza was assuming is Lucy answered.
"No. It changes every year." Lucy shrugged, "Last year I got Levy, and Natsu got Gajeel."
"Attention!" Mirajane called over the assembled students, who were actually behaving all right Erza thought, for a bunch of troubled children. "I'm about to announce this years partners!" She waved a hand, her smile to big for her face.
"Oh dear lord." Natsu muttered, shoving a turkey leg in his face.
"Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia!" was the first pairing. Lucy and Natsu, who were sitting across the table from one another, both stared at their plates. No one said a word, just silence. Erza's eyebrows narrowed, and then she patted her hair to make sure it still covered her eye again.
She mostly tuned out for the rest of the names, only hearing that Levy got paired with her apparent boyfriend Gajeel.
"Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster!"
"WHAT?!"
"Partners huh?" Lucy asked Natsu, trying to keep her voice as cheery as possible. Mira had instructed them to each go on a walk with their new partner, getting to know them. Natsu still wasn't looking at her, like he hadn't all day. They had decided to walk in the school grounds, departing from the newbies Erza and Gray (who had already began to argue) and letting the light from the sunlight wash over their faces.
"Mira is a devil." Natsu muttered, and he gazed at the sunset.
"Why?"
"Because she partnered us together." His voice was calm , cool, and didn't sound like Natsu at all. Lucy cast her eyes on the ground, noticing the distance between their swinging arms. She swallowed.
"How are you?" She asked softly. Natsu still didn't look at her damnit, just gazed at the sun.
"Same as ever." He replied, running fingers through his pink hair. "But not okay."
"Natsu." She begged him, "Please look at him." He turned to her then, and in his onyx eyes there was a bitter anger. "Shouldn't we talk about us?"
"What is there to say Luce?" He questioned her, "You made yourself very clear in June I believe." He turned away again, "I can't even believe you came here after all that. Because your right. I'm fucking broken, and I can't be repaired, so find yourself another charity project." He stalked away.
She let the tears fall, dripping down her face as he left.
When Gray got back, before Natsu, he took a sketchbook and drew. Drew Mirajane's big smile and sad eyes, Lucy's bubbly face, Levy's encouraging smile, Natsu's anger, Wendy's silent shyness, and lastly he drew Scarlet. He drew the way she had looked when looking at Lucy and Natsu. The way one scarlet eyebrow was pulled down over her face, the way her one brown eye was narrowed in concentration.
They hadn't spoken much on their walk, the silence awkward. It was better that way.
Natsu stormed in, ripping a picture off the wall and threw it to the ground, shattering the frame. He didn't explain his rash behavior, just stalked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Curiosity getting the better of him, Gray picked up the fallen picture.
It was of Natsu and Lucy. She had her arms around the boy, her face pressed into his hair, and he was laughing. He looked much different then the Natsu Gray knew now. Setting the picture back down on the floor, he went back to bed.
A/N: OMG SO MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THIS I'M DYING OF EXCITEMENT SO I UPDATED QUICKLY! Sorry Gray and Natsu are both a bit OOC, I'll work on that;) But your first taste of the Nalu drama in this story? Like it? No?
Little less GrayZa in this one, but the next one will be jampacked.