Happy July 1st! How are we already 7 months into this year? I have no idea.

Wow, I never knew I could write so many pairings in one chapter! But it was bound to happen eventually.

If only you guys knew what else is going to be happening in this fic. ;-)

I broadened the perspective a bit in this chapter because it will be happening a lot more often these next few chapters. Meaning, lots of drama and lots of progress will be happening soon~

I'm so excited to write it all, I seriously can't wait.

Also! I think a lot of you misunderstood something last chapter. Because I had PM'd people about this, I figured I should probably just say it here for everyone to see, haha.

Lucy does not like Gray. I suppose I didn't write it clear enough these past chapters, but yeah. Do not worry, all you Nalu fans!

The lack of Nalu in this chapter makes me sad, but luckily, there's going to be lots and lots of Nalu next chapter! Enjoy these other ships in the meantime.

/hideous sobbing because we have 955 follows and that's so much I could scream.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. See you guys next week! :]

"Luce, why have you been staring at Juvia all day?" Natsu's voice floated into Lucy's ears in the middle of the day.

"H-Have I?" she jumped in her seat in surprise. "I've been zoning out all day."

"You've been looking at Juvia all day, you mean," he corrected her.

She bit her lip, returning to her work before he could take a good look at her expression.

Natsu wasn't imagining things—Lucy was staring at Juvia all day.

Not because she was zoning out, but because she wanted to see if Juvia was going to stick with her vow.

The moment Lucy entered the classroom before class started, she closely watched Juvia as she attempted to say good morning to Gray. However, just as they both expected, he stubbornly turned away without as much as a scoff in response.

Though that still didn't stop Juvia from trying and Lucy wasn't planning to miss any second of it.

As the day continued, when the tiresome worksheets were getting passed out, Gray appeared to have forgotten to send the rest of his sheets behind him.

"Gray, the worksheets," Juvia mentioned softly. "You forgot to pass them back."

"O-Oh, thanks," he stuttered with flustered fingers.

Juvia sent him a small smile, going back to her worksheet. Lucy's breath stopped when she noticed Gray's eyes lingering on Juvia.

It took all of her strength to not yell out, "Go, Juvia!"

With these small but significant interactions, Lucy ached for lunch to hurry up. She wasn't sure why she was so eager to speak to Juvia, but she was.

Yet as soon as the bell dinged for lunch, she saw Juvia quickly stride out of the classroom.

"Did Gray say something to her?" her eyebrows furrowed at the boy whom was scooting his desk next to Natsu's.

"I'll be right back," Lucy told her friends when their desks met up with one another in the middle of the classroom.

"Where is she going?" Levy questioned as she watched the blonde hurriedly exit the room.

"She probably can't hold it in again," Cana snickered.

"Cana, don't say that when we're eating," Lisanna complained with Erza sending her a glare.

Lucy—legs moving faster than ever before—searched through the hallways in hopes to find Juvia.

She couldn't stop herself from thinking that Juvia was off somewhere by herself, weeping due to what Gray might have said to her.

After looking through each hallway in the entire school and not finding a single blue-haired girl, Lucy let out an aggravated sigh.

She had no choice but to go back to her classroom and wait for Juvia to return.

Though she didn't need to wait since Juvia was already sitting at her desk, nibbling on a sandwich that came from the school's cafeteria.

"Juvia!" Lucy exclaimed, dashing up to her desk. "Where have you been?!"

"Juvia went to go get this sandwich," she answered. "If Juvia doesn't get there on time, all the best sandwiches will be gone."

Lucy felt all the stress inside of her body leave in an instant.

"Did Lucy not get there on time? Would you like some?" Juvia offered as she extended the sandwich out to her.

"No, it's okay," Lucy laughed with relief. It wasn't until she realized that Juvia was by herself in the front of the classroom when an idea popped into her mind. "Do you want to come eat with me?"

"Doesn't Lucy have a lot of friends to eat with?" Juvia asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Come join us!" Lucy proclaimed. "We'll pull up a desk for you."

Juvia reluctantly followed her, sliding in the desk that was placed for her. She wasn't sure who to make eye contact with, so she settled with looking down at her sandwich.

"Everyone, this is Juvia," Lucy introduced to the pairs of startled eyes focused on their new guest.

"Hello," Juvia nodded slightly, peeking up at them.

"H-Hey!" Lisanna was the first to get out of her trance. "I'm Lisanna."

"I'm Levy," she sent her a smile.

"Cana," she spoke.

"And I'm Erza," Erza stated. "It's nice to meet you."

"Everyone is so friendly!" Juvia gasped.

"Sometimes," Lucy said. "Levy-chan will ruin your favorite book if you push her buttons."

"That was only once, Lu-chan! And it was on accident!" Levy defended herself. "Don't worry, Juvia, I won't ruin your favorite book."

"Also, don't get Erza mad. If you don't, you'll have a chance at surviving," Cana warned.

"Got it! Juvia will make sure to remember."

"Welcome to our group," Lisanna smiled. "We hope you have fun with us."

Lucy couldn't help but smile along with Juvia's radiant smile. Some part of her sensed that Juvia was used to keeping to herself—until today.

"What school did you used to go to?" Erza inquired curiously.

"Oak High," Juvia replied. "It's not a really known—"

"I used to go there," a deep voice interrupted Juvia's.

Juvia turned to the voice, eyes widening immediately.

"Gajeel, you don't remember Juvia?!"

"What?" everyone, including Gajeel, spit out.

"Gajeel and Juvia used to be best friends when we were children!" Juvia revealed. "Juvia would always push Gajeel down the slide everyone was afraid to—"

"T-That's enough," Gajeel growled while clamping a hand over her mouth. "I'm not sure what you're going on about, but don't tell everyone."

"No, no!" Levy objected with a grin. "Tell us more!"

"Gajeel moved away when we went to middle school. You really don't remember?" Juvia asked with disbelief.

"I remember something like that," he answered, averting his gaze. "Who cares, anyway? Levy, do you have any extra food for me?"

"I'll only give you some if you tell me about the slide everyone was afraid to go on," she teased.

"Whatever," he grumbled as he stomped away to his group.

"To think that Gajeel used to be a kid," Lisanna stifled a laugh.

"It's not like he's been that huge his entire life," Lucy giggled.

"But he has," Juvia opposed. "Juvia can't remember anyone that was taller than Gajeel."

"You seem to know a lot about Gajeel," Cana remarked with a suggestive look. "Did you used to like him or something?"

Levy silently held her breath at this; she found out that she didn't need to since Juvia went straight into a fit of giggles.

"Never!" Juvia eventually said in the middle of her laughs. "Juvia only likes Gray."

Erza made a coughing noise at the bold statement, making Lisanna roughly hit her back to prevent her from choking.

"Looks like you have competition, Lucy," Cana smirked.

"No way," Lucy waved her hand, incredibly relieved that Juvia was aware. "Gray is all yours, Juvia."

"Thank you," she smiled. "Juvia will work hard to make Gray like me!"

The girls viewed the enthusiastic Juvia with their own small smiles. This girl—they were already starting to like her.

Like usual, lunch was over in the blink of an eye. As the girls put back the desks in its rightful home, Lucy felt her shoulder get tugged back.

"Y-Yes?" she squeaked at Gray's intense eyes.

"Why is Juvia sitting with you guys?" he interrogated. "Did she threaten you?"

"Of course not!" she answered with a sudden burst of exasperation. "Juvia would never threaten anyone."

Gray's eyes widened slightly, taking a few cautious steps back. "Then what did she do to you?"

"Nothing," she let out a sigh to regain her composure. "I decided to give Juvia a chance which is something you should do, too."

With the bell ringing, Lucy returned to her desk without another word.

She was beginning to feel bad about the way she spoke to Gray, but she couldn't help herself from wanting to defend a friend that was being misunderstood.

"Hopefully that did something," she mumbled to herself as Gray sat down in his desk. As always, he shifted his back to Juvia.

Nonetheless, Juvia didn't let that faze her. With each chance she got, she tried her best to talk to him.

By the end of the day, it was only twice that he properly replied to her.

Once the last bell of the day dismissed them, Lucy rose from her seat to go and comfort Juvia and encourage her that she could do it. Yet when she reached her, Juvia spun around with a grin.

"Gray talked to Juvia twice!" she cheered. "Juvia's heart is beating so fast!"

"I-I'm glad," Lucy stammered, caught off guard from Juvia's optimism. "It's progress!"

"Juvia has faith that she'll get Gray in no time," she stated.

"I know you will," Lucy responded with happiness flooding in her chest. "I look forward to it."

"Juvia has to go to work soon, so it's time for her to leave," she began to take a few steps away.

"You work?" Lucy blurted out.

"Juvia came to Magnolia by herself, so she has to work in order to keep her apartment," she explained bashfully. "See you tomorrow!"

Lucy couldn't stop her eyes from widening. Juvia was much different from who she had imagined.

"See you tomorrow," Lucy waved with a gleeful wave in return.

"Hey, Lu-chan," Levy said to her when she joined the group at the other side of the classroom. "Why are you suddenly so close to Juvia now?"

"Yeah, it's weird," Cana entered the conversation. "How was that meeting with her yesterday, anyway?"

Erza stood next to Cana with Lisanna peering over her shoulder. With all the eyes settled on her, Lucy winced.

"I ended up telling Juvia that I'd make Gray fall in love with her," she muttered.

On cue, all the girls' mouths opened with astonishment. They were speechless.

"That's a tough one," Cana frowned. "Even I don't know how to do that."

"Gray doesn't budge easily," Lisanna admitted. "It's going to be difficult for her."

"I'm going to be positive! I want Juvia to be happy," Lucy didn't listen to their negative comments.

"Me too! I'll help you help her!" Levy declared.

"I wouldn't mind seeing Gray falling in love," Erza spoke up with a sly glint in her eye. "I'll help, too."

"Oh, why not?" Cana grinned.

"I'm in, too!" Lisanna chimed in.

"Thanks, guys," Lucy smiled at her friends that were just as determined to her. It was impossible for Gray to not like her even just a little bit.

"Speaking of Gray," she realized. "Where is he?"

"Ice Princess had to go to work," Natsu informed, coming up beside her. "Without him, there's no one for me to play video games with now."

"Are you saying you miss him?" Lucy smirked. Natsu stuck his tongue out in response.

With Erza and Jellal leaving shortly for a student council meeting, everyone naturally left to go back to their homes.

And despite being forced to play video games with Natsu at home, Lucy couldn't keep her mind off the fact that Gray and Juvia were both going to work.

If only she had remembered to ask where exactly Juvia worked…

Juvia could already feel her damp hands as she stood in the backroom of her new workplace.

She was told to stay in the back until a certain staff member arrived so they could show her around. Until then, all she could do was pace around.

Her mind was going in all directions, although she kept a straight face the entire time.

However, her erratic thoughts only circled around Gray. She was delighted that she was able to speak to him today, even if it was only twice.

Perhaps she was lucky enough to see him one day while she worked?

With that processing thought, Juvia hastily fixed her hair in the mirror. She jolted after hearing someone clear their throat behind her.

"First you follow Gray, now me?" Gajeel cocked a brow with his arms folded across his chest.

"Juvia didn't mean to follow Gajeel!" she exclaimed, spinning around. "This is a coincidence."

"Why are you working here?" he investigated bluntly.

"Juvia needs a job and she found this one. It's close to her home," she replied simply.

Gajeel sent her a hard stare, but just like old times, she didn't look away.

"Well, I guess I have to show you around," he grumbled, scratching his head. "Let's go."

Juvia trailed behind him as he lazily told her about what she would be doing. She was relieved that all she would do was stand behind the counter and aid the cashier.

"Don't let the manager know I like to take a lot of breaks," Gajeel eventually finished.

"Where do you go?" Juvia wondered aloud.

"None of your business," he answered. "Okay, get to work."

Juvia obediently nodded, walking behind the counter to begin working. She wasn't sure how she was going to since there wasn't anyone behind the cash register with her.

She looked around for Gajeel, knowing he couldn't be far since there were only about ten aisles in the whole store.

Once her eyes landed on a raven-haired head poking out from one of the aisles, she checked to see if anyone was approaching the counter to make sure it was safe to leave—which it was.

So she would be back before someone came to counter, she swiftly left and headed to the floating head which disappeared when she was close to the aisle.

"Gajeel, there isn't anyone at the register," Juvia mentioned as she walked up to him.

"I'm not Gajeel," the boy turned around with a frown. "I'm—"

"Gray," Juvia and Gray finished together, their bewildered expressions matching one another's.

"You're the new worker?" he inquired.

"Y-Yes," Juvia stuttered. "L-Let's work hard together!"

"Sure," he muttered, returning to shelving items.

"Do you know where Gajeel is? He was supposed to have—"

"Why don't you find him yourself?" Gray snapped. "Let me work."

"Sorry!" Juvia squeaked. "Juvia will go find him."

She only took a few steps away from him when he coughed behind her.

"Check by the drinks," he mumbled. "He likes to stay there when there's no one here."

"Thank you," Juvia responded, quickly exiting the aisle. Instantly, a grin spread across her lips.

There was a jump in her step as she skipped to the refrigerated aisles. She was about to turn the corner to enter the aisle, but she froze after hearing faint voices.

"Gajeel, not here!" a voice whispered.

"Come on, just once," another voice protested with a husky voice.

Juvia peeked around the corner with eyes wider than the watermelons covering her. She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. She rubbed them to make sure it wasn't a hallucination.

"Is Gajeel flirting with Levy?!" she mentally shrieked in her mind.

She couldn't figure out what exactly they were doing and she didn't get the chance to due to a tap on her shoulder.

"Why aren't you at the counter where you're supposed to be?" the manager grunted.

Juvia's breath was lodged into her throat. "Excuse Juvia! She didn't mean to—"

"She's with me. I was showing her around and she wandered off," Gray interrupted her. "It's her first day here."

"Well, hurry up so she can start working," the manager commanded harshly. "Don't let me see this again."

"Don't worry about him," Gray assured Juvia's worried expression after the manager had waddled away. "He has a temper for no reason."

"Why did you save Juvia just now?" she blurted out.

"No idea," he shrugged. "Maybe to say you owe me one or something?"

Juvia could feel a deep blush appearing on her cheeks; Gray noticed it as well.

"Just joking," he chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I'm going back now."

Juvia's heart was beating five times faster than normal as he walked away to resume shelving.

This job was definitely going to get her get closer to Gray; Juvia absolutely couldn't wait to tell Lucy.

Every day that passed after that, Lucy took note that Gray and Juvia were talking a lot more now.

And once she was informed they had the same job, Lucy knew their friendship was only going to skyrocket from here.

It was amazing to watch—a blossoming friendship like theirs.

Of course, it was something that took days for it to all come together. Lucy was surprised Juvia had the patience for it all.

Gray no longer had his back at her anymore. He wasn't rudely ignoring her when she tried to talk to him. On the days that they worked the same shift, they usually left school together.

And Lucy could only smile because finally—after days of convincing him—Gray had given Juvia a chance.

Not once did Juvia ask Lucy, or anyone, for help. It was as if Juvia knew she could do it all along—and she did.

The worried feeling that surrounded Lucy started to become faint as the days went on. It was comforting to know that there wasn't any reason for her feeling to come true now.

She hoped not at least.

While Gray and Juvia were slowly but surely becoming friends, there was an event coming up that had slipped everyone's minds until there was only a week left.

"I can finally start packing for the field trip!" Lisanna proclaimed happily.

"You don't need to pack much," Erza reminded her. "It's only two nights and three days."

"Cana, what are you doing?" Juvia questioned, glancing at the equations she was scribbling down.

"Calculating how much booze I should bring for us," she replied. "Erza, you won't mind, right?"

"Don't even think about it," she threatened with dark eyes. "You will be sent home if there is any alcohol."

"That's harsh, Erza," Cana clicked her tongue.

"It's the rules," she stated firmly.

Lucy hummed as the thought of packing stayed in her mind for the rest of the day. Since it was almost the weekend, she decided to choose those days to begin.

With how fast time was flying past them, the next time she blinked, it was already Saturday morning.

Brushing her teeth and whipping up breakfast for Natsu and her, they ate while speaking about nothing particular.

"Why are you eating so fast?" Lucy inquired, noticing he was scarfing down his food more rapid than usual.

"Do you not know?" Natsu asked with his mouth full. "The biggest video game of the year is coming out today!"

"When are you going to pack?" she lifted a brow.

"Later," he waved her off. "Video games are more important."

Lucy knew she couldn't do anything to stop him, so she allowed him to eat as fast as he could; she secretly wished he would get a stomachache later.

"I'm going to go now. I'm sure the line is already long," he spoke. "See you later, Luce!"

"And he doesn't even have the courtesy to put away his plate," she muttered after he left.

Even though she was home alone, Lucy didn't mind. This gave her the chance to pack with no interruptions.

She felt that Natsu was going to be bouncing off the walls once he received the video game, so she might as well enjoy the time she had by herself.

Playing some music to get her in the mood to pack, Lucy started the process of picking which clothes would be appropriate for the activities they'd be doing.

"Happy, you're not helping me one bit," she scolded the blue feline who casually walked all over her scattered clothes.

There was only one time when she could understand Happy's eyes; she didn't want to read them ever again after that.

So letting him do as he pleased, she returned to her mental debate with her clothes.

Before she even knew it, Lucy had spent four hours deciding what to bring. She fell into her bed, exhausted from all the running around she had done.

She was able to close her eyes for about two and a half seconds. She was forced to open them when her phone began to ring. Groaning as she heaved herself up, she reached for her phone.

"Mom!" Lucy gasped. "How are you?"

"Aren't you excited to talk to me again?" Layla laughed at her giddy daughter.

"Of course I am," Lucy nodded. "How is Plue? How is Dad?"

"Oh, your father…" Layla's voice trailed off.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. Shooing Happy out her room, she shut her door for some privacy.

As her door closed, the front door was being opened. Natsu entered the apartment, gripping onto his new video game with a grin.

"Happy, want to play with me?" Natsu nearly jumped in excitement. "Popsicle Breath won't be able to come over until later."

"Where's Luce?" he asked as he walked over to the TV to start playing. By Happy's eyes, he was told that she was in her room.

Natsu's eyes lit up at the thought of having Lucy play with him until Gray came over. He shot up from the couch and hurriedly walked to her room.

"Hey, I got the game!" he barged inside. "Let's play—"

He abruptly stopped talking as he realized Lucy was on the phone, glaring at him.

"Who is that?" Layla asked.

"I-It's the TV!" Lucy exclaimed. "Sorry, Mom, I have to go."

"We'll speak later, then. See you soon."

"See you soon," Lucy whispered, listening to the call end.

"I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine, Natsu," Lucy assured with a meek smile. "I didn't want to be on the phone anymore, anyway."

"Why not?" he inquired.

Lucy sat on her bed, anxiously twirling her thumbs. She wanted to keep this to herself, but everything that was already inside of her was building up. She knew she couldn't afford for it to grow any larger.

"My dad," she spoke with a shaky breath. "My dad is in the hospital and he isn't waking up."