Chapter 2: Confusion
HEY GUYS! IT'S ME AGAIN! =D THIS IS MY SECOND CHAPTER OF MY SECOND FAIRY TAIL FANFIC. ONCE AGAIN, IT'S NO MAGIC OR ANYTHING. HMMMM I'M REALLY LIKING THIS SERIES. ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU LIKE IT, AND SORRY ABOUT THE PERSONALITY TWEEKS I PUT IN. ALSO, I APOLIGIZE IN ADVANCE IF THE FORMATTING WITH THE TABBING KEEPS CHANGING, I KNOW THAT BUGS SOME PEOPLE MAJORLY. SORRY, IT SEEMS THAT I POSTED CH 1 AS CH 2 YESTERDAY, SORRY ABOUT THAT. THANKS TO MY GOOD FRIEND HAPPYTHEEXCEED FOR CATCHING THAT AND TELLING ME. SO HERE IS THE ACTUAL CH 2! =D
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF ITS CHARECTERS, HOWEVER MUCH I WISH I DID.
WARNING: YAIO, BOY X BOY, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THIS KIND OF STUFF.
Natsu's mind was still reeling from the events from over two hours before. Grey, the bane of Natsu's existence, had kissed him. Grey, who had chased him half was around the world, had kissed Natsu. Grey had brought Natsu up to the roof of the school at break, and there, he kissed Natsu, where anyone could have seen them.
Natsu couldn't make heads or tails about why Grey did it. Six years previously, Natsu was best friends with Grey in a small town in western Fiore, and in junior high, Natsu fell in love with his handsome friend. Afraid to face him directly, Natsu had written a note to Grey, who later read it out loud to the entire class. The humiliation was so great, that three days after, Natsu ran away to Magnolia.
What he didn't account for was the face that Grey followed Natsu. Grey would appear in Natsu's life, wherever Natsu ran to. Every time, he would humiliate Natsu in a different way, never letting Natsu forget the mistake he made when he fell in love with that bastard. Every time when Grey appeared, in a matter of days, Natsu ran away to a different school in a different town.
And now, Grey kissed Natsu. He didn't make fun of Natsu, he didn't try and humiliate Natsu, he just kissed him. What Natsu couldn't figure out, was why? The questions roamed around in Natsu's head till he fell into the abyss of sleep.
Meanwhile...
Grey sat down at one of the tables in the courtyard with a girl on either side of him. Though it was only his first day, Grey had already begun to attract girls to him. With his handsome looks, it was impossible not to. He smiled and chuckled to himself, though he couldn't help but wonder where Pinky had run off to.
"Where is he." It was a statement, not a question that was directed at him with so much hate. A girl with long scarlet red hair glared down at him, anger burning behind her eyes. Behind her were Lucy and her boyfriend, Loki.
"Ah yes, I'm Grey." Grey said in a casual voice, obviously not caring what the red haired girl thought. "And you are?"
"Ezra Scarlet, student council president." The girl said as she sat down across from Grey. Ezra glared at each girl by him in turn, effectively scaring them away to other tables. "Once again, what did you do to Natsu."
"Oh, you mean Pinky?" Ezra's eyes narrowed at the name. She was one of the few people that knew that Natsu hated being teased about the color of his hair more than anything else. "I pulled him aside for a chat, friend to friend. Though, I don't know where he ran off to."
Ezra's glare intensified, but Grey took it without flinching whatsoever. "Where did you 'pull him aside for a chat'?"
"Why should I tell you, Miss Scarlet?" He said, standing up. "You're not the boss of me. Pinky will make his way back to you eventually; he already did once, didn't he?"
Ezra stood up menacingly. If she had a sword, she would have gutted Grey then and there. She was one of Natsu's few friends from six years previously, before Natsu had run off without a word. "If you do anything to Natsu, so help me I will…"
"You'll what? Kill me?" Grey laughed and turned around. "Pinky and I have been friends for a very long time, so I would suggest you stay out of other people's business." Grey said as he walked away, dropping his empty noodles box in the trash can, before heading back inside the school building.
"Dammit!" Ezra yelled, banging her fist on the table as soon as Grey was inside the building. "What did he do to Natsu? I wouldn't be able to stand it if Natsu ran off like that again!" Ezra collapsed back down on the table, defeated.
"It'll be fine, Ezra." Lucy said, patting her back. "We'll figure out what happened between the two of them."
Meanwhile….
Natsu was dreaming. He was lying on his back in a snow covered park looking at the sky. On his right, a large tree obscured part of his vision ,and there was a set of swings to his left. 'Wait a minute…' Natsu thought 'I recognize this place! It's Magnolia park… six years ago.'
This was the first place Natsu had come across in his attempt to escape Grey. Natsu was fourteen at the time, almost fifteen. After running away from Grey in Dugmore, Natsu's home town in the west, he had taken trains heading east, and ended up in the sprawling city of Magnolia.
Natsu was cold, tired, and looked terrible. He was the person that mothers would steer their children away from, saying "Don't end up like him" to them. But there was nothing Natsu could do about it. He was out of Jewel to pay for food or shelter, and no one would take someone like him in for a job.
Snowflakes began to softly rain down from the sky. Natsu figured that he should find some shelter, but he didn't feel like moving. He figured he might as well let the snow cover him in a frozen blanket of white…
One snowflake gently floated down on landed on Natsu's lips. It wasn't cold, but warm and gentle as it landed on him. A gust of wind floated by Natsu, gently caressing his frozen cheek. The wind was warm like the snowflake, when it should have been bitterly cold. Another snowflake landed on Natsu forehead, the warmth staying there for a couple seconds before leaving him again. Natsu whimpered at the loss of the warm snowflakes, and reached out with his hands to try and hold the warmness. Natsu's hands collided with solid flesh.
Natsu woke up from the dream, his eyes snapping open. Above him was Grey, smiling, looking down at Natsu, who had been sleeping seconds before.
It wasn't a cruel or malicious smile that Grey wore, nor was it a smile which enjoyed Natsu's humiliation. It was a genuine, happy smile that Natsu hadn't seen on Grey for years. "Go back to sleep Pinky." Grey said gently. "You're so cute and peaceful when you sleep." With that, Grey leaned down and planted a light kiss on Natsu's forehead.
"The hell Grey!" Natsu yelled, shoving Grey away from him as he blushed and sat up. "What kind of pervert watches people when they sleep?"
"Oh, Pinky," Grey said with a sigh. "I'll only ever be a pervert for you." Grey's smile widened as Natsu's blush deepened. Natsu grunted at Grey, obviously annoyed.
"Why are you here Grey?" Natsu asked, frustrated. "Why do you insist on humiliating me wherever I go? Can't you just leave me alone?" He looked down at the ground.
"Pinky, Pinky, Pinky." Grey said. "I follow you 'cause I can't stand being away from you." Grey sounded defeated, though Natsu knew it was just a trick to humiliate him, as it always was.
Grey hooked two fingers under Natsu's chin and forced him to look at Grey. They stared at each other for a moment, before Grey smiled, leaned in, and kissed Natsu, causing him to light up like a crimson Christmas tree.
Natsu pulled away from Grey. "Stop it, seriously!" Natsu said timidly. "This is sexual harassment!"
"You're so cute when you blush Natsu." Grey said, another smile yet playing on his shameless face.
"Arrgh!" Natsu shouted, his blush deepening even more. "J-just leave me alone. You've been chasing me for six years! How much is enough for you and your twisted mind?"
"I'll never have enough of you, Pinky." Grey said. He looked up as the bell signaling lunch's end sounded. "Wanna come to class with me?" Grey asked, his usual smirk dancing slightly on his face.
"Course not." Natsu said, turning away from Grey. "Just leave me alone."
Grey stood up. "Alright, fine Pinky." He said, turning to the door. "I'll see you soon enough." He walked off the roof, the door to the stairs clanging shut behind him.
As soon as he knew Grey was gone, Natsu laid back down on the hard ground, and let the tears he had been holding on flow out. Why did Grey have to torture Natsu like that? Would he ever be satisfied? Natsu let tears fall, and confusion roam his mind as he feel back down into a dreamless sleep.
Natsu woke to the sound of the end-of-school bell. He looked up at the light blue sky, and the clouds that floated peacefully around in it. 'Why can't I be like that?' Natsu asked himself. 'Why can't I just be free and happy like everyone else?'
He heard the sound of doors opening three floors below him, and students walking out, chatting and enjoying the presence of their friends. His friends! Ezra and Lucy would probably be strangling Grey by now. Natsu chuckled to himself. 'The idiot deserves Ezra's full-on wrath.' He thought to himself.
Even though Natsu was totally independent and was fine on his own, Lucy and Ezra were still extremely overprotective of him. They had both been his friends before he ran off the first time, and they didn't want him to leave again, so they always kept a close eye on Natsu.
Natsu wait a couple more minutes before he was pretty sure that the teaches would of left the classrooms, and stiffly rose up from the ground, his back protesting after hours of sleeping on the tough concrete of the roof.
He slowly walked over to the door and opened it, going down the stairs as slowly as possible. He reached the second floor where his class room was, and after peeking inside to make sure that no one was there, opened the door to get his book bag. It was under his desk, right where he had left it.
Natsu walked out of the classroom with his book bag slung over his shoulder. He then proceeded down the stairs and out the door. He walked across the courtyard, heading in the direction of the road.
"Natsu." He froze in his tracks, the color draining from his face. Lucy stepped out from behind a tree where she was almost certainly waiting for him. "Where the hell were you?!" She yelled at Natsu. "We were worried sick about you! We thought that Grey guy had beat you up and dumped you down the garbage chute or something!"
She walked over him and put a hand on his cheek. "Natsu," She said, her voice much softer. "Really, where were you? And what did that creep do to you?" Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with concern.
"I-I'm fine." Natsu said, looking away from Lucy. "I just… wasn't feeling well. And, G-Grey didn't do anything to me, honestly." Lucy sighed, but knew better than the pry. Natsu would reveal it to her in due time.
"At least let me walk you home." Lucy said, smiling. Natsu looked at her and gave her his special grin that would make anyone's heart, boy or girl, melt.
They walked home in silence. But, as they turned onto Natsu's street, he stopped and looked at Lucy. "Luce?" he asked. She looked up at him, her eyes questioning. "I'm, ummm, well…" Natsu started
"What is it Natsu?" Lucy asked, fear starting to creep into her voice.
"I'm… I'm thinking about leaving again." Natsu blurted out. He looked at Lucy to gauge her reaction. Her face filled with utter shock and horror.
"What?" She said loudly, almost shouting. "You're leaving again? You can't!" She said, fearful that her friend might leave again. "The last time, we thought you were dead! You can't leave us like that again!"
"L-Lucy…" Natsu said, trying to comfort her. "I said I'm thinking, not that I will…"
"It's because of that Grey kid, isn't it?" Lucy said, her eyes brimming with tears. "What did he do to you? He's the reason you ran away last time, isn't he?"
"N-No, Lucy, that's not it." Natsu said. He was totally on the defensive now.
"No!" Lucy shouted. "You're not leaving us again! It was hard enough with you gone for four years, I don't think I would be able to handle it again!" She looked into Natsu's eyes, and he could see a passionate fire burning behind be deep brown eyes. "I don't care what happens; I won't let you leave again. I'll get him arrested; I'll hire someone to beat him up, anything." She said, a tear running down her cheek. "Just don't go again. Please Natsu."
Natsu was taken aback by the large display of emotion. "O-Okay, Luce." He said softly. "I'll make sure to talk to you and Ezra before I do anything at all, alright?"
"Okay, Natsu." She replied. She reached out and wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging him tightly. Natsu slowly put his arms around her and patted her back.
They walked the rest of the way to Natsu's small house in awkward silence. The two waved and said their goodbyes before Natsu walked up to his front door, and Lucy headed towards her house. After a minute of fishing around his bag, Natsu pulled out the key and unlocked the door. He walked inside, slipped his shoes off by the door, and walked into the living room. When he turned the lights on, he paled.
Grey was sitting on Natsu's couch, looking as comfortable as he could possibly be.
"Hey Pinky." Grey said with a smirk while Natsu just stared at him. "How ya doing?" Grey asked Natsu in a casual tone as he stood up. He walked past Natsu into the kitchen. "What's for dinner?"
Natsu finally found his voice. "H-h-how did you get in here?" He sputtered at Grey, who was smiling broadly.
Grey grinned. "Remember, in the first year of junior high, when you gave me a key to your house so I could always come to see you? You're using the same lock on you house in Dugmore as you are here."
Natsu groaned and flopped down on one of the chairs. "Just how much stuff did you keep that I gave to you?" He asked, his voice dry.
"All of it, obviously." Grey replied as he walked back into the living room where Natsu was. Grey sat down on a couch opposite to Natsu. "And it's all serving me very well." Grey smiled again. "Let's do some homework… together."
Natsu didn't like it, but he knew that Grey was stronger than he was, so Natsu complied. The two went up to Natsu's bedroom, and for the next hour and a half, Natsu worked grudgingly with Grey on the homework that was assigned, most of the time doing it for Grey.
They finished up the last of the math homework, and Natsu flopped down on his bed, glad that he was finally done. "So… What's for dinner?" Grey asked Natsu from the desk.
Natsu turned over and glared at the raven haired boy. "Make your own food and work at your own house bastard."
"Yea, I would," Grey replied, totally unfazed by the hatred in Natsu's voice. "But I don't have my own place yet. I'm getting an apartment at the end of the week." Natsu sweat dropped at that. "Seriously, I'm starving, so, what's for dinner."
"No way I'm making you anything." Natsu muttered into his pillow.
"And why's that?" Grey shot back.
"Because, if I feed you once, you'll come back again and again and you will never leave me alone again. Just like a stray cat." Natsu said it as if it was basic knowledge.
"I thought you liked cats." Grey said, slightly confused.
"I do." Natsu looked up from his pillow. "Just not you."
"Please?" Grey begged. "I don't have anything at my apartment, just this once, I promise."
"And I wonder how long that promise will last." Natsu shot back, his voice filled with daggers. "Maybe, about, I don't know, two days?"
Grey was hurt deeply by Natsu's words in that one sentence. Natsu was referring back to the second year of junior high, the year Natsu wrote the love letter to Gray. Natsu's parents had been especially rough on him one day, and Natsu had gone to Grey's house seeking comfort. Grey took in the bruised and beaten boy, and held him while Natsu cried his eyes out. Grey had promised Natsu that he would always be by his side, and that he would support Natsu no matter what happened. That day was what gave Natsu courage to write the letter. It was two days after that promise was made that Grey started the game of hide and seek around the world.
Grey sighed. "Oh… alright." He said, crestfallen. "I'll… I'll go now." Grey picked up his book bag and walked out Natsu's room towards the front door.
"Ah damn it all." Natsu muttered into his pillow. He quickly got off his bed and followed Grey. "Wait, Grey." Natsu said, his tone annoyed. Grey paused, halfway out the door. "I'm sorry, that was really mean." Natsu said, trying to hide the fact that, even though he hated Grey, Natsu didn't want to hurt his feelings. "I'll make you dinner ya stray cat." Natsu said, grinning.
"Really?" Grey asked, his face brightening up.
"Yea, whatever." Natsu said as he plunked down the stairs that lead to the front door. "Just close the door—you're letting all the warm air out." Grey closed the door happily.
Grey grinned, and when Natsu got to the bottom of the stairs, Grey wrapped his arms around a very surprised Natsu. "Thank you Natsu." Natsu blushed deeply.
That night, Natsu made an amazing bowl of ramen for each of the two boys. Grey teased Natsu about looking cute in an apron, Natsu blushed, Grey commented on how much Natsu ate, making Natsu blush once again. Grey really enjoyed Natsu's blush.
It was after they had both finished their soup when Natsu spoke. "Grey?" He asked seriously.
"Yea?" Grey replied cautiously, knowing that something bad was coming.
"I want you to leave Magnolia." Natsu said bluntly.
"What?" Grey asked, surprised. "I've only been here a couple days Natsu. And anyways, I like it here." He said, putting his hands behind his head. "It's homey."
"You found me Grey, good job." Natsu congratulated him with no positive emotion in his voice whatsoever. "But you've had your fun with me, so will you please leave? Go back to Dugmore or somewhere."
"Hehe, No." Grey replied, his tone flat. "No way I'm leaving you alone here, Pinky."
Natsu glared at him. "If you don't leave, then I will. I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be around you. After what you did to me, I don't really consider you a friend anymore."
"Well, I thought you might say that, and consider running off again." Grey said. He pulled his phone of out his pocket and waved it in Natsu's face. "Which is why I decided to get a way to stop you from running off again."
"What? What do you mean by that?" Natsu asked, fear edging his voice.
"You aren't twenty one yet Pinky. That means, if your parents want to, they can legally force you to go live with them again." Natsu paled at the thought. "I got tons of pictures of you on here, Pinky. If you run away, I just might figure out that you were somewhere near Magnolia, and I just might tell your grieving parents where you are. The entire police force would be out looking for you, trying to bring you home to your loving parents."
Natsu's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare." His voice was filled with hatred, but Grey could hear and equal amount of fear.
"Try me, Pinky." Grey said with a smirk on his face.
Natsu's parents were highly abusive. When he still lived with them, Natsu's father beat him almost daily. His mother didn't care about him, and didn't pay any attention to him unless he brought her money to buy useless stuff with. Most of the time, they would forget to feed him breakfast or dinner, so the role of providing food ended up landing on Grey, who brought Natsu extra meals every day at school.
"Alright fine." Natsu said, defeated. As much as he hated Grey, his parents were much worse than anything Grey could do. "I won't try and leave Magnolia."
Grey looked at him, expecting more. "Swear it." Grey said, wiggling the phone some more.
"Okay, okay Grey! I, Natsu Dragoneel, hereby swear that I will not try and leave Magnolia without permission from Grey Fullbuster. There, you happy?" Natsu asked curtly.
"Yes." Grey said as he reached out to ruffle Natsu's hair. "Very."
Natsu slapped Grey's hand off him. "Now, will you get out of my house?"
"Fine." Grey pouted.
Grey picked up his book bag, and followed Natsu to the door. "Thanks for the meal, Pinky." He said with a grin.
"Stop calling me Pinky!" Natsu said angrily as he blushed.
"You're so cute when you blush." Grey bent down and gave Natsu a light kiss on the cheek, causing Natsu to blush even more. He opened the door and walked out. "See ya tomorrow, Pinky."
"And stop it with the kissing thing!" Natsu yelled after him. Grey just chuckled.
LINE
WELL, I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! PLEASE R/R, PLUS ALL THAT STUFF THAT I USUALLY SAY. THIS WAS MY LONGEST THING YET, AROUND 3.5K WORDS. TOOK ME AN ENTIRE PLANE RIDE PLUS ANOTHER HOUR TO DO.