Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters.

Chapter 12

The Ruse

For a moment, everything else banished from existence for Lucy and she could only feel the soft yet slightly chapped feel of Natsu's warm lips against hers. It wasn't even sure what was happening. She remembered Natsu saying something about being in love with her and the next thing she knew, her smaller frame was wrapped in Natsu's embrace and he was kissing her. She felt confused and lightheaded. She couldn't accept the fact that it was her best friend's lips on hers and to her embarrassment, she could feel her heart slammed against her ribcage hardly against her chest.

It felt like eternity although it was probably a few seconds in reality that Natsu pulled back and the whole room was so quiet that she could hear Natsu's heartbeat clearly. She looked up to see Natsu and to her surprise, he was frowning slightly. But it went away quickly and replaced by cheeky expression and winked liked he just pulled the biggest conspiracy in all of Earthland.

That rascal! He just lied in front of the whole population about the big love confession when it was actually a whole lot of poppycock. Oh, he will pay for this.

He sighed loudly and released his hold on her and took several steps back. He made a show of running his hand tiredly through lush pink locks and closed his eyes. Oh, he's good, she would give him that.

"But I know that Lucy doesn't feel the same way. So, I will set you free, my little butterfly. I don't want you to feel like you're tied down to me."

He caressed her cheek softly but she could see that he was trying to fight back a smile and thankfully for him, he still had his back to the gaping audience. Even Angel looked completely entranced by Natsu's performance.

Lucy wanted to kick his face in for including her in all this drama but she couldn't act without looking like a horrible bitch so she cleverly remained quiet but she could feel her right eye starting to twitch.

"Please forget I said anything. But know that I will always love you from afar."

With that, he turned and left dramatically and Lucy had to bite her lips to stop herself from burst out laughing. But he stopped before he reached the door and stormed back to where she was standing. His hands back on her back before she could register what was happening and he dipped her until her long blonde strands were touching the floor.

"But one last kiss before I leave."

She opened her mouth to tell him to sod off but once again, his warm lips covered hers. The second kiss was shorter than the first but Lucy could feel her face warming up. It felt really wrong to feel something while kissing a best friend. Weren't she supposed to feel disgusted, like she was kissing a brother? Right? Right? So why was she only feeling hot and slightly uncomfortable for being in this position in front of a lot of people?

The study room was even more packed than when they had entered. She could only assume that someone had spread the words about them and now, everyone in the near vicinity had rushed in to catch a show. Busybodies, all of them.

Natsu straightened his spine and pulled her back him as well. Both of his rough, big hands cupped her face and whispered, loud enough for all of the watchers to catch every words.

"Goodbye, Lucy."

He left and with him gone, the whole erupted into chaos. Well, as much as it could be in the library. Everyone was talking in hush tones and some giving her nasty glares while some nodded in sympathy.

A hand clasped her shoulder and she turned to see Erza looking at her. She looked conflicted, her mouth opened and shut again several times in attempt – Lucy could only assume – to say something but wasn't sure if it would mean stepping out of the line. The redhead took a deep breath and made a final decision.

"Lucy. I know it's none of my business but you could have given him a chance before rejecting him. He looked really genuinely in love with you."

"Scarlet is right, Heartfilia. You should really think about this, in honor of my sister's heart. I don't want her pain to be in vain."

It was unsettling to see Angel agreeing with Erza since they were always locking horns but she couldn't care less at the moment. All she knew was she was going to kill that moron when she got back to their place.

When Lucy unlocked the door of their apartment, Lucy found Natsu lounging on the coach in front of the TV, playing with the blue cat who was sitting on between his legs. One of his hands held a pink string of ribbon – Lucy recognized as her hairband – and twirling it in front of the cat, making the feline jump around to catch it and completely unaware of the spitting mad blond standing in the hallway.

Without taking her eyes off him, Lucy slammed the door shut, knowing that it would lock itself and saw Natsu flinched at the sound but he didn't turn around.

"What the hell was that at the library?"

Natsu finally turned to look at Lucy and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Luce but that was the only way out of that mess."

"You could have faked a heart attack. Now, you just created another mess instead, you idiot!" Lucy shouted, not caring when Natsu winced at the high-pitched voice that Lucy got when she's really angry.

"Angel would still beat the shit out of me even if I really got a heart attack. But I played as an unrequited lovesick puppy and boom! She felt sorry for me backed out."

Natsu swing his feet onto the floor and stood up, taking measured and small steps towards his friend, unsure if she would attack him if he got too close or not. Taking small steps, he finally reached in front of Lucy and cautiously pulled her into a hesitant hug. She stood still as a carved marble but didn't hurt him so, he took that as a good sign and tightened his arms around her enough to resemble an actual bear hug and swing back and forth in an attempt to tease her. He felt her frame starting to relax but she didn't return the hug yet.

"You have to tell everyone the truth tomorrow, Natsu. Half of the school hates me now for breaking the Great Natsu's heart. Most of them are girls. I'm surprised I got back home unharmed."

Natsu let out a deep breath and slowed to a stop but still, holding her tightly.

"Fine. But in return, you have to do something for me."

"WHAT?!"

Lucy made an effort to pull back to probably kill him but Natsu was smart enough to not let her go.

"You started this mess, Natsu. It's your job to clean it up so, stop making it sound like you're doing me a favor."

Natsu tutted softly and Lucy struggled more. He knew she hated it when he did that noise, like he was patronizing her.

"Fine then. You will just have to stick with the label of being the notorious man-eating heartbreaker and I will remain an innocent victim. Hey, that's actually a good idea. Maybe I will get some pityfuc_ Oww!"

Natsu yelped when Lucy hit his back harshly but at least she stopped trying to get out of his embrace.

"Fine! As long as it's not an inappropriate favor, I'll allow it. But you better clear my good name by tomorrow morning."

Natsu cheered loudly and kissed the top of her head with a loud smack. Lucy shook her head but wrapped her arms around his waist and enjoyed a moment peace surrounding by his spicy scent with a hint of smoke. She turned her head and put her chin on his chest and looked up in his onyx eyes. Smiling softly at his raised eyebrow, she murmured what she had been thinking on her way back.

"You know you're actually a good kisser."

Gray checked himself in front of the mirror in the bathroom and looked down at the bottle of hair gel in his hand. He wasn't sure if he wanted to slick his midnight locks back with the help of the gel or just leave it as it was. He normally used the gel when he wanted to look professional but he didn't know if this counted as a casual meeting or not.

He grunted and dropped the bottle back on the counter. He rubbed his fingers across his closed eyes and asked himself why he cared that much. He wasn't a metrosexual male like his friend Loke who spent at least half an hour on his hair only every morning.

He knew he looked good but he never paid much attention to it which was what made his rugged good look more attractive to females. Usually, he spent about twenty minutes to shower, put on clothes for a date – sometimes, he would spritzed cologne if he really wanted to impress his date – but he never fussed over his hair or how his shirt might be too tight.

He wasn't willing to admit but he knew this was not an ordinary date with some random floozy he met at a school café. After weeks of relentless pursuing, he gave in and said yes to the date with his not-so-secret admirer, Juvia Lockser.

He hadn't been hesitant about this date because she wasn't pleasing to his eyes. It was quite the opposite. The tall marine-biology student was a professional swimmer with killer legs and beautiful cerulean hair. It was her habit of clinging to him like a wet t-shirt and putting him on the pedestal that gave him pause. The truth was she was intriguing and intelligent. A few times she wasn't fawning all over him, he found out that she was fun to talk to and clever enough to keep the conversation interesting.

So, after his many friends "gentle" encouragements ( "stop being a pussy and ask her out already", "man up, Fullbuster."), he toughed himself up and asked her out on a dinner. After she had awoken from her unconsciousness from the shock, she leapt into his arms and agreed happily.

Deciding that he didn't want to look like he was trying too hard, he settled for a messy hairdo and headed for the restaurant. He had offered to pick her up at her place but Juvia had insisted that she would meet him at the restaurant.

The place he had made a reservation was a small yet beautiful Italian restaurant opened by a very famous chef, Yajima. It was incredibly difficult to get a place but he personally knew the owner and pulled some string.

The restaurant was busy on a Friday night and he could see a long waiting line in front of the restaurant. He saw a pretty maître with bubblegum pink hair. She smiled brightly and waved at him to the front. He could hear a few groans from the line but no one was brave enough to voice out their compliant. They knew how scary the maître could be.

"Hello, Gray. Your guest has already arrived. She's waiting for you at the bar."

"Thanks, Meredy."

Gray nodded in gratitude and the girl grinned.

"Have a nice date, Gray. That one's a beauty."

Gray coughed into his hand, praying his face wasn't turning red for he could feel his cheek getting hot and entered the restaurant. He could see a flash of blue among the crowd near the bar and walked in that direction.

What greeted his sight nearly made him swallow his tongue. The tall bluette was sitting on the high chair in front of the chair, sipping on a white wine. Her lithe body was gloved in a tight dark blue dress that reached her ankles and the way she crossed her legs highlighted the spilt on both sides of her dress reached up to her thigh, showing her slim legs perfectly. On her feet was a pair of black pumps with ankle straps.

"Juiva. Have you been waiting long?"

At her name, she turned around and Gray gasped silently. She wasn't wearing much makeup but her face was glowing nicely under the light and her pink lips were shinning from what he guessed was a lip-gloss. He remembered Lucy always applying the watermelon scented gloss after eating. Her blue hair was flowing smoothly in gentle curls around her waist.

"Gray-sama. Juvia hasn't been waiting that long. Juvia missed Gray-sama today."

She stood up and with her heels, she was nearly his height. She smiled widely and walked towards him before grabbing him for a quick hug.

"Gray-sama looks extra handsome today."

Definitely blushing this time, Gray scratched his cheek and smiled.

"Thanks. You look beautiful as well, Juvia."

Juvia giggled and placed her had on the crook of his arm and before she could reply, the waiter led them to their table and Gray was glad he had asked for a seat near the window. The view of the nightlights of Magnolia was phenomenal. They sat down and the server placed the menus in front of them and told them the specials before he left for them to themselves.

"Thank you for the compliment, Gray-sama. Juvia chose this dress because the color reminded Juvia of Gray-sama's beautiful blue eyes."

Gray shifted on his chair uncomfortably. At that moment, he heard someone said "Gray" and "idiot" from somewhere near their table but Gray ignored them, sure he was just hearing things.

He looked back at his date for the night, unsure what to say to that comment but she didn't seem bothered by his lack of response. She was now looking intently at the menu and he saw that her eyebrow were scrunched adorably when she was concentrating.

That was the difference between him and the girl sitting across from him. She proudly wore her heart on her sleeves and was unafraid of declaring her honest feelings. Whereas he was as reserved as they came and had infamous cold demeanor. He had been called "emotionless robot" countless of times. But when he saw how freed she was with her emotions, he was… jealous and wished he could be more like her.

Gray just stared at her subtly while she was checking the menu since he already knew what he wanted. Also, a quiet Juvia was new to Gray and he wanted to soak it up as much as he could.

Just as he was about to ask Juvia if she had made her decision, something cold and wet hit his face. He heard Juvia gasped in surprise.

"How could you, Gray!"

Wait. He knew this voice. He looked up and saw the familiar blonde standing beside their table with an empty glass in her hand.

What the hell? Gray wasn't sure what was going on. All he knew was for some reason, Lucy had just splashed his face with water. Lucy didn't look like she was dressed for a fancy date. All she had on was a strapless baby blue blouse and pale pink skater skirt and a pair of boots. It was cute but that was how Lucy dressed normally. He was surprised she was allowed in the establishment wearing casual like that but remembered that her father was actually a co-owner of the restaurant.

Her face gave nothing away. It was neutral but Gray saw the edge of her lips fighting to tilt upwards. She was trying to hold back a laugh! Of course. This was another of Natsu's prank and somehow, Lucy got sucked up in it as usual. It bothered him that Natsu was always putting Lucy in a tight spot. He didn't like it when his friends were having a problem, especially Lucy. He was rather attached to the blonde who had a special place in his heart.

"How could you do this to me, Gray!"

She yelled again before she ran out of the place.

Juvia's eyes followed the blonde she had seen before a couple of times and turned back to the wet and stunned Gray.

"Gray-sama. What was Lucy-san doing here and what did she mean?"

Juvia had met the popular blonde a few times on the campus but she had rarely seen the Lucy and Gray hanging out together. The only times they were together was when they were with other people which wasn't surprising since both Lucy and Gray were incredibly popular and ran in the same circle of friends. Then, she thought of something.

"Oh my god. Is Gray-sama dating Lucy-san? Is Gray-sama trying to two-time her with Juvia?"

Gray spluttered and shook his head wildly.

"No. Lucy and I are just friends. I don't know why she did that."

Juvia looked like she didn't believe him. Cursing silently, he dried his face with a napkin on his lap signaled for the waiter.

"Now, Gray-sama is leaving in the middle of the date. Gray-sama is running after love rival to proclaim his love for her and say Juvia was just a hussy to make love rival jealous. How could you, Gray-sama?!"

With that, Juvia ran out of the restaurant and Gray rubbed his temple. He wasn't even sure what had happened and now, Juvia was imagining a plot fit for a soap opera. Nonetheless, he had asked the waiter to put their food in takeaway boxes and paid the bills hastily and left to search for the overly-imaginative blue-haired woman.

At the corner near the restaurant, hiding against the wall, the girl slapped her partner on his chest sharply and the male yelped in pain.

"That was a totally diabolical plan, Natsu. You better apologize with me afterwards to them both. I can't believe I did this a favor for you."

The pink-haired man waved his hand nonchalantly but yelped again when the blonde twisted his nipple over his t-shirt.

"Okay okay. I promise. Jeez."

Lucy looked at Gray worriedly and looked back at Natsu.

"Let's follow him."

"What? Why? I had my revenge. Let's go for a drink at the pub or something."

Lucy glared at him until he sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Let's go."

Gray found Juvia hunching near the river, not far from the restaurant. From the way her shoulder was shaking, she was crying and Gray wasn't good at dealing with sobbing women.

"Juvia. It wasn't what you thought it was. I promise."

He saw her tensed for a minute and then, she turned around. Her nose was red like a reindeer's and her eyes were swollen but somehow, she still remained pretty.

"So, there's nothing between love rival and Gray-sama."

Juvia wasn't even aware when she had started calling Lucy as love rival but she didn't care. That name was going to stick.

Gray sat beside her and placed the plastic bag in front of them. They sat there on the river bank, both of them staring mindlessly at the flowing river.

"The truth is Lucy and I dated for a bit."

Juvia turned to talk but Gray held up his hand.

"Let me finish first. Yes, Lucy and I dated for a couple of times but that was a while ago. Before I even met you."

Juvia calmed down a bit when she learnt she wasn't the other woman.

"We were friends first and I thought she was cute so, I asked her out but whatever's between us sizzled out quickly. We still loved each other but it wasn't a kind of love between lovers anymore. Not a lot of people knew about this. We wanted to keep it low key. She was more like a mischievous little sister to me than her boyfriend and I think she felt the same way."

Gray returned his attention back to the river but Juvia couldn't take her eyes off him. She had never seen Gray opened up his heart before and she daren't even blink in fear of missing a single second.

"We called it quit, both of us. I think the failed relationship strained our friendship. We weren't the same again. Mostly for Lucy. She felt uncomfortable spending time with just me so, we kinda drifted apart. This is probably why you hardly saw us together. I really missed her and I still loved her but not in the way you think."

Juvia blinked and laughed with a humor.

"Now, Juvia feels foolish, reaching to the conclusion herself. Juvia is sure Gray-sama would never go on a date with Juvia after Juvia's dramatic exist."

Juvia felt a cold hand cupped her face and she looked up to Gray's handsome face.

"It was actually interesting and quite entertaining."

Juvia's eyes widened and she asked Gray in unsuppressed glee.

"Really? Gray-sama isn't mad at Juvia?"

He shook his head and smiled softly.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping for a second date. I'm not ready for any title yet but I would like to see how this goes."

In a blink, he found himself lying on the grass with happy Juvia hugging around his neck, yelling yes repeatedly. They had finished their first date on the river bank, eating their takeaways and talking about random things. By the end of the night, Gray was glad he had given Juvia and him a chance.

When he got back to his apartment at near midnight, he saw a bundle of something on his front door. On a closer inspection, he saw thick locks of golden hair covering her face and realized who it was.

"Lucy. What are you doing here?"

The said girl looked up and her mouth curled up in half a smile. She stood to her full height which just reached just above his shoulder.

"Hey Gray. I just wanted to apologize for tonight. It was actually a favor for Natsu. I didn't realize you really like that girl. Natsu said it was just another date with a random bimbo. I promise I will drag Natsu to apologize to you tomorrow and I will explain everything to your date as well so you don't have to worry about it."

Gray just looked quietly at the girl and waited for her to stop her rambling. He remembered she had the habit of talking nonstop when she felt nervous. He was sad that even after all these time, Lucy and he couldn't go back to what they used to be.

"It's fine, Lucy. I explained everything to her. We're fine. I figured this was a work of that fire-breather."

Lucy nodded absentmindedly and she didn't move from her spot. Gray waited patiently because he knew Lucy had something else to say.

"I actually heard you two tonight on the riverbank."

Lucy was looking at her feet and Gray was not sure what an appropriate reaction was so he kept quiet.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop. We just wanted to make sure you were alright. Natsu got mad that I didn't tell him about us and left in the middle."

She lifted her head and a pair of brown eyes clashed with dark blues. Then, with a sob, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Gray. I know it wasn't your fault we didn't work out but I acted like a child. I didn't know how much I hurt you because of my behavior and for that, I'm sorry."

Gray returned the hug and rubbed the girl on her back gently.

"It's ok, Lucy. I understand. We both have our own ways of dealing with loss."

Lucy shook her head and he could feel the wetness through his dress shirt. Two crying women in one night. This must be a new record for Gray.

"No, you were right. I missed us hanging out together as friends. Just us. From now on, I will make more effort to be a better friend. You're right. You're like a brother to me as well."

Lucy pulled back and dried her tears with the back of her hand and attempted to smile but it ended up looking more like a grimace.

Gray laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"That's good to hear, Lucy. Now, it's late so, go back home and I'll talk to you tomorrow. Ok?"

Lucy nodded and bid him good night. When he turned to unlock the door, he heard a soft voice.

"Gray."

Gray turned to find Lucy with a bright smile on her pretty face. There were tear stains on her face but she wasn't crying anymore.

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happened between us, please know that you're very special to me."

Gray remembered thinking somewhere along the same line before. Lucy continued in the same gentle tone.

"After all, you were my first."

A/N: Another chapter for you amazing people. I will also continue with my other story, Slayer. Don't worry. It was difficult to write the speech from the third person for Juvia but it was really fun! I tried to make Juvia's character not too OOC because I didn't write about her much before but I find her to be really hilarious. And I always wanted to make Gray and Lucy's bond as more than that of the siblings since there will be many like that in this fic. No, they don't have feelings for each other anymore and they're not getting back together so, don't freak out just yet. It's still a NaLu story. But I just wanted to make the story more interesting and with a little bit of drama but fun at the same time. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter and what you expect in the future chapters!