Chapter Three: All The Boys
Closer now...
And closer still…
Then it's closer to her
'Til she knows you're there
Lucy leaned against the wooden counter-top attached to the wall, trying to look around inconspicuously as Cana poured a quarter of a bottle of inappropriate liquid into her half full bottle of orange juice, swirling the contents until she was satisfied. Tucking the thin flask back into the pocket of her brown khakis the brunette gave Lucy a playful wink, Lucy rolling her eyes and shoving away the outstretched bottle Cana offered her. She didn't feel like risking getting kicked out of camp on the first day. She looked around the room much more relaxed now, taking in the long rows of clear stained wooden tables and high domed ceilings, all designed for excellent acoustics within the large space.
One never knew when or where an impromptu sing-a-long or rap battle could happen at Fairy Tail.
The single door beside the canteen was pulled open suddenly, the unexpected noise drawing Lucy's attention. Cana had started walking over to where Juvia and Levy sat already, abandoning Lucy as she stared dreamily at the large glass windows on the East and West sides of the building. Lucy's curiosity was piqued when she watched Gray and Loke enter, both agitated and with a growing tension forming between the two guys. She started to walk towards them to greet them, but her brow furrowed as she noticed the two had stopped walking just inside the door and were talking in a conspiratorial hush. Were they arguing? Loke was the first to notice Lucy's approach, and immediately ended whatever fight he had been having with Gray, large smile forced and swagger exaggerated as he walked towards Lucy.
"My Sunshine!" he purred as he slung his arm around Lucy's shoulder, "Seeing you always eases my soul, as though you are the brightest star and I am but a traveller lost at sea."
Lucy shrugged off his arm with an eye-roll, snorting audibly at Loke's dramatic declaration. "Why don't you save that for a girl it might actually work on, that one was pretty good." Lucy teased, any annoyance she might have felt at his statement smoothed over by her good mood carried over from meeting her cabin mates.
"Not as pretty as you, babe." Loke shot back, lips curing in a suggestive smile and face leaning in towards hers. Lucy planted a hand firmly on the side of his face, smushing his cheek and lips as she shoved him away.
"Hey Gray." Lucy greeted as the raven haired boy finally strolled towards where Lucy and Loke stood. He grunted in reply, and Lucy raised an eyebrow as she looked over him. "Forgot something?" she asked innocently, smirking at his annoyed expression. She knew him too well, and she knew that was his I-feel-better-but-don't-want-to-show-it-because-I-never-showed-I-was-upset-in-the-first-place grimace. Stupid emo boy.
"Ha ha," he said sarcastically, bumping her shoulder and giving her a small grin as he passed her to walk in the direction that Cana was waving. Lucy's eyes lit up and she lifted a finger beside her head as she spoke.
"Oh that's right!" she chirped, "We have some new friends I want you guys to meet!"
She grabbed Loke and Gray's wrists, dragging them behind her as she walked quickly to the table where her friends sat. Cana was harassing a bright red Juvia, Levy snickering behind her hand as she watched her cabin mates' antics.
"Guys, meet Juvia and Levy! Girls, this is Loke," Lucy said, releasing her friend's wrist and motioning at him with her hand, "and this is Gray." Lucy yanked on Gray's wrist so he moved from his half hidden spot behind her shoulder to be in full view of the group of girls.
"Definitely Pete meets Edward." Levy said as she looked over Gray, sending Cana and Lucy into a loud fit of snorts and laughter, even Juvia tittering behind a pale hand before she collected herself with a delicate cough. Loke shot them an amused glance while Gray was torn between glaring at Lucy and fighting back a light blush.
"I'm sure Juvia wouldn't mind if Gray got that spread in Rolling Stone." Cana drawled, sending the others into another round of giggles, although Juvia's laugh sounded a little confused. A musical fanatic probably wouldn't understand such a pre-teen 'bad boy' reference.
"Pete meets… hey, do you mean Pete Wentz?" Gray asked in confusion before a spark lit behind his eyes, "Wait, are you talking about 'The Fabulous Life And Secret Torment' interview? In Rolling Stone?"
"Erm." Levy gaped, but it was too late. Gray was spiralling back into middle school. His former self was taking over.
"Issue 1012," Gray continued, eyes wide in wonder as he looked to a fonder past. A past which featured a heavy use of eyeliner. "March 2007. I waited in line for fifteen minutes at the corner store just to buy it. Classic. You know that interview happened like a day before the release of Infinity On High? Man, iconic."
The group stared at him in stunned silence as Gray signed to himself, nodding as if he'd wrote the article himself.
"Juvia thought it was the MCR Gray yearned to be a part of." Juvia frowned in confusion.
"Oh sweetie, if their songs titles have more words than the number of years their fans have lived then he's fantasized about being with them." Cana soothed, patting Juvia's head, the girl in turn nodding in serious understanding.
"But sadly it isn't 2007 anymore, so Gray has to find someone else who understand the consequences of being deeply misunderstood." Loke smirked before turning his attention to Juvia, "Say, how good are you with eyeliner?"
Gray turned a vibrant shade of pink, gritting his teeth to keep from punching Loke at Lucy's pointed look.
"I can do my own eyeliner, thank you very much." He ground out.
The group erupted into laughter. Nearby tables cast them concerned looks.
"Wait! No! That's not what I-" Gray stammered.
"Juvia thinks it is impressive that Gray is so skilled with make-up," Juvia's voice cut through the laughter, "Juvia wishes she had Gray's skill. She can never get the wings even."
"Hey, I'm sure he'll be happy to teach ya Juvy." Cana snickered as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Juvia's face brightened suddenly, Lucy following her gaze and looking in the direction she was waving at, her jaw dropping as she realized who their sweet and innocent friend was drawing towards them. A tall boy who looked like he was already in his third year of university stalked towards them, long black hair wild and intimidating. Well, all of him was intimidating. He was well over 6 foot, maybe pushing 6 and a half, and was barely fitting in his tight black tank top, matched with torn and abused jeans and combat boots. His face was littered with eyebrow and nose piercings, his ears glinting silver when his dark hair shifted around them.
Lucy supposed he could be handsome if it weren't for the fact that his scowl could make flowers die.
He stopped at the edge of the table, eyes shooting to Gray and Loke with mild disgust before he looked at Juvia. "Really, your first time makin' friends and these idiots are the 'chosen ones'?"
Juvia pouted at his bored voice, Lucy balking at the deepness and smoothness of it. "Juvia thinks Gajie is being too rude to her new friends." Juvia chastised, standing from her spot on the bench seat and walking towards her friend, her arms looping around his heavily muscled one so it was crushed to her chest. Lucy tensed as she waited for the boy to jerk his arm back from Juvia. Instead he rolled his eyes, his scowl softening to a grimace when he looked down at her.
"How many times do I hafta tell ya not to call me that?" He questioned dryly, something like amusement or fondness growing in his red eyes as Juvia looked up at him, eyebrows knit as she thought.
"Gajie, Juvia was wondering if you still travelled with your emergency eyeliner?" She ignored his previous question, blinking up at him innocently. 'Gajie' spit out a sharp squawk, cheeks turning a soft pink and eyes glaring down at Juvia. He left his arm in her hold still, though.
"I haven't in years, Rain Woman. And the name's Gajeel." he grumbled, Juvia sighing deeply and looking down.
"Now Juvia will be unable to learn Gray's amazing skills."
"Oi!" Gajeel barked, turning a heated glare on Gray as he shifted his arm -and Juvia- closer to him protectively. "The fuck is Juvia goin' on about, Stripper?" he asked menacingly, Gray and Loke swallowing sharply under his deathly look before Gray replaced his mask of indifference and sneered at the other boy.
"Nothing, 'Gajie'." He mocked, Lucy looking between the two in confusion.
"Call me that again and you'd best be sleepin' with one eye open for the next two months." he warned in a low voice. Lucy looked at Cana as she became even more confused, Cana shrugging her shoulders as well.
"Does Gajie know Gray?" Juvia questioned, unaffected by the dangerous aura radiating off of the boy whose arm she was hugging. "Why didn't he tell Juvia he was friends with the MCR models." She pouted, her eyes sparking as Gray choked. "Or did you two meet in the 'pit' Gajie is always texting Juvia about?"
Gajeel sighed heavily and removed one hand from where it was shoved in his pocket, fingerless studded glove resting on top of Juvia's head as he patted her hair. "No, Waterworks, I'm sharing a cabin with Dumb and Dumber here, and my idiot cousin." He explained bluntly.
"You're Dumber." Loke interjected, looking at Gray flatly. Gajeel shot Loke a look, who just raised his hands and slipped into a spot beside Cana. Everyone else settled into the benches so Gajeel was left at the front of the table with Juvia clinging to him. He tensed suddenly when he realized everyone was staring at him, Lucy's skilled eyes -from having to decipher Gray's basically monotonous facial expressions- picking up on the tightness around his lips and shoulders. She smiled at him comfortingly, Gajeel blinking blankly at her. Lucy's smile waned until he looked away, the pink tips of his ears showing through his black mane of hair.
"Yer both morons." Gajeel frowned, recognition flashing in his eyes when Juvia led him to the bench seat beside Levy, who sat at the end of her side of the table. The girl was pointedly stabbing at a piece of lettuce and ignoring the looming boy beside her. Lucy's eyes widened as she watched Gajeel's face crack into a large smirk when he leaned into Levy's personal space. "Almost didn' see ya there Shrimp." he teased, Juvia clapping her hands delightedly on the other side of Gajeel.
Levy looked coolly out of the corner of her eye at Gajeel, whose smirk widened more to reveal pointed canines. Until Levy's fork somehow found it's way into his hand. "Oops." Levy said with false apology, Gajeel rubbing his hand with a wry and impressed glint in his eyes.
The group fell into easy chatter, Loke hitting on Levy and Juvia and failing hard, Juvia staring at Gray in awe before looking away just as Gray looked at her with hidden curiosity, Gajeel remarking on Levy's tiny size just for the blue haired girl to hurt him in some 'accidental' fashion. Lucy couldn't help but beam as she watched her friends, new and old blending seamlessly as they picked at the food on the table.
"Decided not to go sulk by the river like a pussy?" Gajeel asked suddenly, grinning over Lucy's shoulder where an unamused snort sounded.
"Fev's string broke as I was walking over. Got your text and decided food wouldn't be a shitty substitute." Lucy looked over her shoulder at the boy who was talking, recognizing him as the stranger from before. His dark beanie still covered his hair, green eyes twinkling with mischievousness as he countered Gajeel's comment effortlessly.
Lucy looked away as she felt a flutter in her stomach. Maybe camp food didn't agree with her.
"Who's this cutie?" Cana interrupted, eyeing the boy behind Lucy as she took a swig from her 'orange juice'. She smiled coyly, leaning forward and pushing her cleavage together. Lucy rolled her eyes and chased a chickpea around her plate before pushing her fork into it violently. So what if Cana was looking for a new fling this summer, it was none of Lucy's business that the cute guy behind her had caught her friend's attention. Even though he had talked to her first...
"O-oh umm," she heard behind her, Lucy lowering her head and glaring at the half of the chickpea that had flown from her fork. So what if his nervous and flustered voice sounded even cuter than his confident one. She looked over her shoulder again, head turning without permission. Her expression lightened considerably when she saw his uncomfortable look, eyes wide and looking at Gajeel for help. Not that Lucy cared that he wasn't interested in Cana. Because that would be petty. And Lucy was a good friend. Yes. And good friends encouraged one another to try and kiss cute people. Wait, kiss?
"Natsu! Juvia is glad to see you again! Are you still hallucinating about your girlfriend in the shower?" Juvia asked brightly, eyebrows pinching in concern as she finished speaking. Natsu made a high noise as his face turned bright red while all three boys at the table burst into loud and raucous laughter. "Gajie was quite concerned for his cousin's mental health." She continued, pouting as she looked around the table. "Natsu's mental illness is no laughing matter." She mumbled to herself, Lucy looking at Natsu critically and taking pity on him when she noticed his clenched fists and raised shoulders.
She couldn't help the giggle that bubbled in her throat when Natsu looked at her, his eyes bright and clear and captivating Lucy. She didn't think she had ever seen such a pretty green before. He looked away quickly, hands stuffed in the pockets of his open, faded-red hoodie. She smiled when she recognized the band name on the shirt under it, opening her mouth to ask him about it when she was cut off.
"Really? Jimmy Eat World?" Gray sneered, Lucy looking at him in shock. "I bet you just love the song The Middle, don't you?"
Lucy narrowed her eyes at his condescending tone, looking up at Natsu when he made a low 'tch' sound. "You think you're so great, I bet you tell everyone you were kissin' the Way brothers asses before Welcome To The Black Parade because everyone hasta know you were 'tragic' before it was cool." Natsu shot back, lip curled up and eyes hard as he looked at Gray. Lucy had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop from snorting, Natsu looking at her in surprise at the sound. His expression softened and he grinned crookedly at her, Lucy struggling to compose herself again.
"Well I like Jimmy Eat World. And The Middle is my favourite song." Lucy said pointedly, holding Gray's cold stare until he looked at the table and stole one of Cana's fries. She held her hand up to Natsu and smiled her most friendly smile. "My name's Lucy, but you already knew that," she said teasingly. Natsu blushed and tugged at the white scarf wrapped loosely around his neck before taking her hand and giving it a firm shake, his skin warm and rough against Lucy's.
"I'm um, Natsu. And I don't have a girlfriend!" Natsu rushed out, eyes widening in horror when he realized what he had said. Lucy giggled again. Natsu relaxed and grinned at her laugh, his look melting and making Lucy blush the longer they stared at one another. Both jumped apart when Cana cleared her throat, Lucy laughing nervously and Natsu scratching the back of his head as they tore their hands from the other's. Lucy stuck her tongue out at Cana's raised eyebrow and approving smirk. Gray glared harder at Cana's fries and Lucy worried they might actually freeze over.
"What happened to your stupid sweater?" Gray asked coldly, Natsu's mouth twisting as he faced him.
"I fixed the thermostat, so now I don't have to worry about freezin' my fucking dic-" he grinned victoriously, stuttering as he looked at Lucy again, mouth frozen mid word.
Loke and Gajeel both groaned loudly to themselves, Lucy looking between Natsu and Gray at the obvious inside argument.
"Fucking overgrown lizard." Gray hissed, Natsu looking away from Lucy once again.
"Ice Princess. You gonna sing Let It Go at karaoke or something?"
Cana burst into loud laughter, thumping Gray on the back as she howled. Gray was thoroughly unimpressed.
"Well at least I don't go garbage diving for all my clothes." Gray smirked, looking Natsu up and down condescendingly. Natsu tensed again, eyes narrowed as he growled back.
"Like you even wear clothes you perverted stripper."
"Really, watch who you're calling perverted you fucking mol-"
"Enough." Gajeel said suddenly, Gray biting his tongue at the warning tone. The table sat in awkward silence for a few seconds before Lucy was reminded of her growing anger at Gray when he made a face at Natsu.
"Well I think his clothes suit him," she mumbled defensively, looking at her platter and stabbing another innocent chickpea. "There's no need to be so rude." She looked up at Gray when she heard a dry snort, Lucy's lips twisting down at his cruel smirk.
"Yeah, 'cus he's trash too."
"Gray Fullbuster that is it. You are acting like such a pretentious asshole right now and I don't care what you two are fighting about but Juvia is our friend and he is Juvia's friend so you will be nice to our new friend." Lucy seethed, Gray flinching back and lower lip puffing out by a fraction, looking back at the fries as he stole yet another. Lucy rolled her eyes. Great, now Gray was pouting.
"And you." She turned to Natsu, who also flinched back under the remainder of her glare. "Stop encouraging him."
"Aye sir."
Lucy blinked at his quick reply, shaking her head with a sigh as she looked away. She met Gajeel's impressed look before looking at Cana, who was tugging on Gray's ear and whispering something harshly to him that was making Gray pale more than usual. Levy and Juvia wore matching looks of concern. Loke just looked bored.
"Why don'tcha take a seat there Flame Head," Gajeel offered gruffly, Natsu looking around the table and finally eyeing the only available spot beside Lucy. He looked at Gray, a sort of unspoken conversation happening between the two for some reason before giving a small smile.
"I think I'll just head back to the cabin with a sandwich or something, I don't wanna be any more trouble..." He excused, smile becoming strained as he shoved his hands back into his pockets.
"You're not any trouble Natsu," Lucy said firmly, speaking over Gray's unintelligible murmur. Ass.
"Nah, I gotta go check on Lily and Happy anyway." He took another step back, Lucy looking up at him and ignoring Loke's comment on 'devil spawn'.
"Sit." She ordered, but Natsu remained standing awkwardly, pulling nervously at the sleeves of his hoodie.
"C-Can I erm, go get some food first?" He stammered.
"Oh, of course!" Lucy blushed, realising she may have come across as a little bossy, "Help yourself! We'll still be here when you come back!"
Natsu looked as though he were doubtful of that fact, but he nodded anyway before shuffling away. Lucy watched him go, shoulders hunched and hands stuffed into the pocket of his ripped jeans as though he were trying not to draw attention to himself.
"Wow Lu, eager much?" Cana's snicker drew Lucy's attention back to the table.
"It's not like that!" Lucy flushed, "I just- he… seems kind of familiar is all."
Her mind flitted back to earlier, when she'd bumped into him on her way out of the auditorium. The way he'd looked at her… and he said her name like it was a prayer. Even remembering it sent shivers down her spine. She wondered again how he'd known her name before she told it to him.
"Didn't you do volunteer work with that special needs school last year?" Gray pondered, frowning when he received a slap to the wrist from Cana as he was caught stealing another of her fries, "Maybe he was a student there and that's where you remember him from."
"What is your problem?" Lucy hissed, kicking his shin under the table. His answering yelp of pain was grossly exaggerated, "Why do you hate him so much? You've only known him for a few hours."
"Gray's just a little worried that Natsu's desired cabin temperature will thaw his frozen heart." Loke mused as he closely inspected the piece of lettuce impaled on his fork, "Or, y'know, that Natsu is hot enough to do it himself."
Gray looked more horrified than he had when he and Lucy had watched The Human Centipede on Halloween last year at Loke's words. Their orange haired friend simply shoved his fork in his mouth, the lettuce having passed his inspection. Loke finally caught Gray's look and flashed him a green-flecked grin.
"Juvia wishes she could thaw Gray's frozen heart." Juvia pouted from beside Gajeel.
"My heart isn't frozen," Gray scowled, "And you're way hotter than Natsu."
Juvia squeaked as Gray's face turned as red as the tomatoes in Loke's salad. Cana and Lucy shared a look of delighted surprise while Gajeel and Levy looked a mix of amused and uncomfortable. Gajeel holding majority of the latter in his expression, as Lucy no doubt suspected he was losing circulation in his arm by now.
Natsu took a deep breath as he walked back to the table, eyebrows knitting as he joined mid sentence.
"Who's hotter than me?" Natsu questioned, adopting his previous stance of standing awkwardly by the table, this time with a tray stacked with food.
"No one!" Lucy blurted, the same time Gray drawled 'Everyone'.
Natsu stood there chuckling nervously as he glanced at everyone seated, avoiding Lucy's eyes for fear his face would literally catch on fire. There was an awkward moment of silence during which Juvia- still attached to Gajeel's arm- narrowed her eyes at him and hissed something that sounded distinctly like 'Love Rival'.
When his eyes finally met Lucy's once more, she smiled at him brightly and patted the space beside her. Natsu gulped, mustering his courage as his sat down.
Don't be weird, don't be weird, don't be weird, rang through his head like a mantra.
He sat in silence, nervously poking at his food. Gajeel always told him he was a monster when he ate. He figured a sweet girl like Lucy wouldn't want to see something so… uncouth. That's what Grandine had called it right? Something about no manners. He was too nervous to eat anyway.
He dared a glance at her out the corner of his eye. He couldn't believe this was real. That he was sitting right next to her. At Fairy Tail. Maybe he'd have the best summer of his life and during the final performance the beat of the song would turn into the steady thrum of one of those hospital machines, and really he'd just been in a coma the whole time. That seemed a whole lot more likely than finding her again and her actually liking him.
He chanced another look, just to make sure she was still there. Green eyes met brown. Natsu quickly looked away.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lucy turned to him, setting her fork down and pushing her plate away.
Natsu sat up straighter, keenly aware of her focus on him. He pushed his own plate away despite having yet to eat one bite.
"Sure." He offered her a weak smile.
Don't be weird, don't be weird, don't be weird.
This was it. He was going to have an actual conversation with her. Not an imagined one. He hadn't had the heart to tell her he'd already known her name when she'd offered her hand earlier. She knew he already knew her name. Oh god, what if she thought he was a stalker or something? Girls like her probably had their fair share of stalkers. Oh god oh god oh god, what had that icy bastard told her while he'd been in the lunch line? What if she didn't even remember bumping into him before. She didn't remember making out with him, why would she remember him gaping at her? Oh god he didn't think he could take her forgetting him twice-
"Are you alright?" Lucy frowned at him.
"W-Was that the question?"
"No," A furrow appeared between her brows as she leaned a little closer to him, "You've just gone awfully pale all of a sudden..."
He was dimly aware of Gray and Loke snickering in the background, but for the most part the sound was drowned out by the ringing of his pulse in his ears.
This was it. This was what a heart attack felt like.
"Ah yes," A skimpily clad brunette sitting two down from Lucy leaned across the table to nod at him in deep understanding, "That was my exact face when I first got a stellar view of the twin peaks."
Natsu's mind groped for understanding until the brunette made a honking motion with her hands in front of her own chest. Natsu looked back to Lucy in confusion, then his eyes moved of their own accord.
It was just for a split second, but when his eyes found hers again he knew. He knew that she knew. They both leaned back slightly, cheeks blazing pink. He was dead. His heart attack had killed him and now he was in hell. Pure, mortifying, hell.
Lucy shielded her chest before whirling on her friends.
"Cana!" She screamed, "What have I told you about-"
But Natsu didn't hear the rest of Lucy's protests as he felt a jolt go through the table, his tray of food moving away from him with the force. He looked up to find Gray twisting the handle of his fork, working it deeper into the wood of the table as he glared at him.
"You're dead," Gray seethed, his words uttered in a quiet but deadly calm. Natsu heard them loud and clear even over Lucy's shouting, "You so much as look at-"
"Gray please," Loke sighed from between the still yelling Lucy and Cana, "When they're that nice you can't blame a man for peeking."
"Loke!" Lucy and Gray yelled in unison.
"Juvia knew chivalry wasn't dead." Juvia sighed dreamily, "Gray is a true gentleman."
"How can he be a gentleman when he's not even wearing a shirt!" Natsu protested.
"You say that like I don't threaten guys who look at you all the time." Gajeel frowned at Juvia, who finally let go of his arm to rest her chin in her hands and stare dreamily into the distance.
"Juvia wishes Gray was her protector."
This spurred another round of protests from Lucy, who insisted Gray was not her protecter. Gajeel expressed his disbelief on Juvia's deaf ears, claiming the girl was ungrateful. Cana and Loke were placing bets on which of Lucy's assets would distract Natsu next, while Natsu demanded to know why Gray was willing to murder him for glancing- which he stated, many times, was unintentional- at Lucy's chest while others were freely allowed to discuss it in depth.
The ruckus of their table drew many curious stares, all of which Levy noticed as she watched the mess unfold before her.
"You're crazy." She whispered to herself, "All my new friends are crazy."
Their whole table became so engrossed in their arguing that they didn't notice the steady rise of their 'indoor voices' or the red-head stepping up to the announcer's podium on the other side of the room.
"SILENCE."
The voice roared over the speaker, stopping not just their table but all the others dead. Lucy's stomach filled with dread as everyone's eyes turned to the redhead behind the podium, only to find that she was glaring directly at their table.
"Shit." Lucy heard Gajeel whisper.
This was promptly followed by Natsu.
"Shit shit shit shit shit." He whispered to himself.
Lucy turned towards him to find him hurrying out of his seat, his green eyes wide with fear and never leaving the podium. She followed his gaze to find not only the red haired girl making her way towards their table, but Gajeel practically crushing Levy -who was frozen in place in fear- in his attempt to flee his seat.
The moment Gajeel was free he ran, head ducked as he darted through the tables as though that would do anything to hide his bulky six foot and heavily pierced frame. She turned back to find Natsu crouched by the table ready to flee. He seemed to be hesitating.
He held his hand out to her cautiously.
"Come with me if you want to live." He whispered dramatically.
Lucy barely had time to squint at him in confusion before Natsu squeaked- actually squeaked- in fear and scuttled away.
When she turned back to the table, her friends shared her look of immense confusion. Levy was staring down at the table, avoiding any and all eye contact.
Gray shrugged the expression off with a roll of his eyes.
"Pussies." He snorted in amusement.
A shadow fell over their table.
"Disgusting." The red haired girl scowled as she stood at the head of their table. "You. What is your name?"
She pointed a finger at Gray, who swallowed nervously. He was trying not to look scared, but Lucy could see right through him. The poor boy was terrified.
Lucy didn't blame him. Intimidation was practically rolling off this girl in waves. She seemed a little older than the rest of them. Her stance was powerful, chest sticking out slightly as though to show off the Fairy Tail logo on the breast of her t-shirt off with pride. Lucy gulped as she read the words Camp Enforcer embroided there.
"G-Gray Fullbuster?" Gray answered in a timid voice.
"You don't seem very sure about that." The girl narrowed her eyes at him. Lucy watched her carefully as the girls head shot up and looked around the room. "Natsu! Gajeel! Don't think I don't hear you snickering out there. I will find you!"
Lucy heard a distant crash near the back entrance accompanied by shouts of 'Save your own ass Flame Brains!' from what she assumed was her new friends mad dash for freedom. She was suddenly very glad she'd stayed as the redhead's eyes blazed with anger. The consequences seemed worse for running.
"As for you," She addressed Gray again, "Do you always use such vulgar language when there are children present?"
"Ah- I- Erm-" Gray stammered.
His chest was heaving and he was beginning to sweat. Lucy and Loke shared a worried look. Gray looked like he was on the verge of an asthma attack, even though he hadn't had one in over eight years. Lucy still carried an inhaler with her, just in case, but it was back in her cabin.
The first call to the Camp Paramedics were postponed however, when Juvia unleashed the full force of her smile.
"Erza!" She beamed, "Juvia is so happy to see you!"
The redhead- Erza- turned her gaze to Juvia. Her anger seemed to dissipate somewhat at the joy in Juvia's smile.
"Juvia," Erza greeted with a nod, "I'm glad to see you've made some friends. Albeit disrupting ones."
"We're very sorry about that ma'am!" Lucy pipped up, seizing the chance to get into the 'Camp Enforcers' good books, "It won't happen again."
"I can assure you it won't," Erza smiled pleasantly, "Not after I catch those two swine. Nice to see you as well Levy."
Without any further chit-chat, Erza went on her merry way. Lucy could have sworn there was a skip in her step as she went off in the direction Natsu and Gajeel had fled.
"I could have died," Gray wheezed with a hand to his chest, "I should be dead."
"You're so dramatic," Cana drawled, "Juvia would have given you mouth to mouth, there was never any danger."
"Would Gray like some CPR?" Juvia questioned the dark haired boy eagerly, shuffling a little closer to him.
"Erm, I can breathe just fine on my own, thank you." Gray cringed a little as Juvia wrapped her arms around his.
"Juvia can't." She sighed as she rested her chin on Gray's shoulder, "Gray takes Juvia's breath away."
The rest of the table made gagging noises, but Loke looked impressed.
"Damn," The orange haired boy muttered beside Lucy, "That one was smooth."
A sharp staticky sound filled the room, drawing all eyes back to the podium at the front of the cafeteria. As sudden as the noise had been it was cut off, unintelligible frustrated mutterings and curses coming from the seemingly empty stand. Lucy watched as two bells came into view, attached to the ends of a purple and orange stripped court jesters hat -Lucy assumed that's what it was supposed to be anyway. More agitated murmurs floated through the air until finally the head of the camp director Makarov popped into place.
"Listen up brats," he began, white moustache twitching in a scowl as he eyed the direction Erza had walked -skipped- off in. His expression softened to a wry smile when he looked around the room and at the expressions of the teenagers around him. "So here we are, yet another start to Camp Fairy Tail.
"I just want to wish everyone an unofficial and Fairy Tail welcome, and I hoped all you youngsters enjoyed our opening ceremony, courtesy of our very own Gildarts Clive." A small round of applause scattered through the campers, Lucy smiling at Makarov's warm grin at the sound. "Yes, an amazing force of Fairy Tail when he remembers to come back home from his tours. Oh shut up you know it's true you walking wrecking ball." Cana snorted as the hushed sounds of Makarov bickering with her father came through the microphone, giving a small wave when Gildarts beamed over and swung his arm through the air in exaggerated motions.
Makarov released a heavy sigh, muttering under his breath before he forced a large smile on his face and continued speaking.
"As all of our returning family know, the first week is a settling in week. The camp directors and I want to let all you brats get used to the layout and the independence of the camp, as well as to meet some of your fellow campers.
"This year's week themes will be posted by the end of the day today and the pairings for the first week will be picked by the councillors, both from your submitted bio's and from our watching you interact. Most pairings will stay within the age groups, but sometimes we like to see one of our older children mentor the younger ones. There will also be a karaoke night one of these evenings, please see our lovely Mira Jane for more details." Makarov scratched the side of his head, eyes closed and brows knitted in thought. Lucy snuck a glance at Cana and Loke, the only two in the original group who had been here previously -granted it had been years ago. Both were smiling fondly as they looked up at the podium, Makarov still capturing their attention like a grandfather who was telling the same story about walking up the hill both ways before handing out a piece of candy. Or a beer, in Cana's case.
A loud crash and a high pitched wail came from outside the cafeteria, followed by what Lucy assumed was a war cry. Makarov's eyes opened tiredly and his shoulders drooped, Lucy thinking she saw the phrase 'I'm too old for this' mouthed by the old man.
"And a last reminder. There is no camp enforcer at Fairy Tail. Just a very, very, passionate young woman who could quite possibly kill a bear. Good luck!" And with that note his head disappeared behind the podium again, an eerie silence falling over the campers in the seconds following.
Lucy grinned worriedly as she made eye contact with Juvia. Well, that was one way to start off the summer.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoy our portrayal of Gray because he is literally me when I was in my early teens. Eyeliner included. Hope you guys are enjoying this fic so far! Don't hesitate to leave a review, we love to hear from you!
- HN & NJAF