~~~Chapter 8: Future Distractions~~~

(AN: Rewrite of filler should hopefully not be as slow as it was originally, I don't know. Sorry, I have school testings and it's a short chapter because of it… but next chapter will be better. :D ~Dragon)

The next day, I woke from nearly four hours of sleep (being generous here) but ignored how tired I felt to just get to the guildhall. Besides from my probably drooping eyelids, I looked fine so going to the guildhall was sure to fix that with how active it was everyday. There was always someone brawling, even if it wasn't Natsu. Besides, I didn't want to make Juvia, Gray, or Levy worry about me.

At the guildhall, I was almost instantly greeted by Juvia and Levy as they declared that they'd be joining me for the day. I guess that because of them the day really went well. Though by around noon I did notice some things about the guild. Natsu still hadn't been to the guildhall yet and Gray and Gajeel seemed to be gone as well. Lily, though, was at the bar chatting with the Strausses.

"Where's Gray and Natsu anyway?" I asked the two bluenettes.

"Don't worry too much about it," Juvia, to my surprise, answered. "They'll be by sooner or later. Juvia's sure they're fine."

"Alright," I sighed.

Juvia, not caring where Gray was? What kind of world was this? Or did she know something that I obviously didn't? He was probably off trying to find Natsu… Maybe with Gajeel too…

Mira came around and said, "Natsu and Gray took a job early this morning. I'm not sure about Gajeel though. What's wrong, Lucy?"

I returned surprised, "Oh, no, nothing's wrong. Natsu and Gray actually took a job together? Couldn't say I'd ever see that coming. Was it a special request or something?"

The white haired maiden shook her head, "No. Gray came strolling in this morning with Natsu hanging by the doorway as he selected a job and they headed off. It was an easy one for the both of them to handle so I'm sure that they'll be back by dark."

"Really? Have to say I'm surprised," I admitted.

"Gajeel's probably looming around nearby, if you were wondering," Lily added as he was hovering above the oldest Strauss.

Although, the whole Gray and Natsu on a job had me curious. Natsu was actually willing to go on a job with Gray the day after they had a bad brawl. Was I missing something? Did Gray convince him? How'd he do it? Were they going to talk about yesterday? Can Gray convince Natsu that he shouldn't split our team up?

The questions swirled around in the back of my head as the day continued. Juvia even openly talked about her experience in the future to keep me occupied and not worry about what the boys were doing. She explained how it felt for the first day to the best of her ability without giving out too much information about the others at the guild there. It was interesting to hear.

She described how when they realised that they were sent into the future, she called up Gajeel on a futuristic lacrimal communication system and he came over to help her and Gray figure out how they were sent there. They informed Levy of the predicament and she and Hibiki went to do research on the situation. The guildhall had been replaced and looked a bit smaller, but cozier and still lively as ever. Natsu was more calm and collected, though was still the cause of most brawls. Gajeel was more socially active and actually most of our close friends sat at his corner table. Erza was crazy and pugnacious as ever (as my earlier information of her pregnancy explained that a whole lot better). And myself had probably stayed the same more than anyone else in the guild.

Time passed quickly and before we knew it, as the sun was already setting outside. It was around then that Gajeel had appeared from wherever he had been to ask about the future. There were quite a few people crowded around to hear Juvia's story but most scurried away as soon as Gajeel was in the mix. The rest escaped when the guild doors burst open to reveal an exhausted Gray and Natsu. They looked a little worse for wear, but a few bruises were nothing for them. Mira questioned how it went and was answered by Gray with a nod saying that the job went well.

"Yo," Gray greeted as he plopped himself down between me and Juvia.

"How did Gray-sama's job go?" Juvia mirrored Mira.

"Great considering that the only thing that went wrong was that we underestimated how much work the job would be," Gray answered simply.

Gajeel sat down next to Levy, inquiring Gray to explain though didn't receive an answer from the ravenette. Happy landed on the table, but didn't say anything. Uncharacteristically holding a straight face. Natsu was the same as he huffed and sat across from me, and kept a slight distance away from Levy. It didn't seem like Gray even said anything to him during their job.

Levy broke the silence by saying, "Hey, it's just the six of us. Like in the future."

Gray chuckled and guessed, "Juvia told ya, huh?"

"Only the little things," Juvia replied.

I could barely concentrate on their chatter. My body was sent ridged since Natsu arrived. Why hasn't he said anything? Why does he have such a serious face? Why did he have to sit across from me so I could watch him hold his death glare with the table and see his arm muscles tense as he fisted under the table? Why was he acting this way? Why was he acting this way because of me? Why can't things go back to normal? Why…?

(AN: Thanks to the following people: nico2883, OgaxHilda.)