Author's Note
Sorry minna! School started so I wasn't able to update, but here's the next chapter ^^ This is where it starts to get dark though, just warning you . But enjoy, and have a nice day :3
Chapter 6:
How did I miss this?! This food is amazing! I look at Gray in excitement, and he looks into my eyes, causing myself to blush, looking away. "What is it?" He asks me, and I quickly reply, "N-nothing..." I hate it when he looks into my eyes, it gets me all flustered because they're really mesmerizing... Ack, I should stop thinking like that! My face reddens even more, causing Gray to ask, "Seriously, what is-" "N-never mind!" I stammer quickly, stuffing the last of the third dish of katsu into my mouth, savoring the taste in my mouth, but I look at him in concern as he releases a small sigh. "Are you okay?" I ask after swallowing it down and he quickly says, "What, yeah, I'm okay." "No you're not, tell me," I insist, gulping down the last of my meal, and he switches the subject abruptly, slowly saying, "Hey, I'm going to bed now..." As he gets up, I run to the door, blocking him from passing, saying, "Tell me first." "No, I can't, not to you, just shut up and let me through," he scowls, and I shoot back, "Why not? We have to listen to each other for once, until morning I thought." He makes an annoyed sound but slowly explains, "I... I sighed because I think you're a idiotic monkey, now let me through." I grit my teeth, but move away, letting him move into the room. I watch him walk past me, and blink a few times in surprise as he takes off his shirt and shoves his pants off, causing myself to blush. He throws open the covers on the bed, climbing in. He wasn't shirtless all day? Now that's a first... He turns on his side, facing the wall in silence. A lump forms in my throat as I remember that the day is over and tomorrow we're going back to being rivals again... I slowly take off my vest and trousers, walking towards the bed in emptiness, and climb into the bed on the other side, facing the other wall. I'm still scared of what will happen tomorrow, this mission really messed it up for me... I can't get Gray out of my head and I wanna stay with him, but he has his own life and probably hates me anyway. I tug off my vest and trousers, dropping them besides the bed, and climb into the bed. It's just like Lucy's, really comfortable and reassuring, but it's still not comforting me. Why do I have to think about him now? Why can't I just go to sleep and forget about everything? Maybe if I just drift off, it'll help... I put the pillow back in its place, staring at the ceiling in silence. Today was really fun with you, Gray... I love your company, I wanna stay with you, but I know I'll just annoy you every second I'm around you, besides, everyone will think I'm crazy... I look away, staring at his raven hair quietly. Why weren't we friends before? Why was I so rude to you? I wish I could turn back time, but then again, you'd probably hate me so I guess there's no point anymore, is there... I bite my lip, pinching my side. Should I still pretend to hate him like he hates me? I dunno... I feel my eyelids droop, and I let them close. Maybe I will stay away from him so I don't make myself feel even more guilty than I am, who cares about me anyway...
Gray's POV
I start to feel his warm breath on my back, realizing he fell asleep. Poor guy, he must be really tired. I turn to face Natsu, looking at his tranquil face. He's so innocent, despite his fiery playful nature, and he's always the cute spiky pink hero that everyone likes. A sinking feeling goes through me, realizing all I'm doing is hurting him, calling him names and fighting with him all the time... Why did I even start clashing with him in the first place? Now he thinks I hate him, well everyone thinks I hate him now... Sure he can be annoying as hell, but I love him too... He likes Lucy and Lucy likes him though, so what's the point of hopelessly liking him? I'm a guy too, and also he hates me. We were just trying to be nice to each other for the mission, it's not like we're going to stay nice to each other too, it'll just be the same again... Will it? I don't want this day to end, I'm scared what he'll do tomorrow... I'll just cross my fingers and wish for the best I guess... I move closer to Natsu, feeling like I should do something, scanning him, and decide to kiss him on the forehead, blushing, causing myself to back away, biting my lip. Might as well call it a night... I glance at Natsu one more time before turning away from him, my eyes closing, causing myself to fall asleep.
The next day...
Natsu's POV
I slowly open my eyes, groggily looking ahead of me, and feel something cold and smooth on my hand and on the side of my face. What am I'm sleeping on... I look down and alarms go off in my head causing me to jet up, blushing furiously, and stammer, "C-crap!" "F-finally you woke up finally, jeez, I couldn't move at all without waking you up..." Gray manages to say, annoyed, and I flush, apologizing, "S-sorry..." I watch him climb out of bed silently, hastily walking out of the bedroom. That was so embarrassing... Why does my forehead feel weird? I rub it, my brow furrowing, and shrug, getting out of bed tiredly. I haven't been to the guild ever since yesterday morning, I'm starting to miss Lucy and the others... I shove on my clothes, walking out of the room, and out the door. Now that Gray's gone, I can take a faster route... I brace to run, and sprint for a few yeards, then rocket diagonally up into the air, fire spiraling around my ankles as I look ahead, feeling the breeze shoot past me. The wind feels nice, I forgot what it felt like for a while... I look down, seeing the outline of the guild building, and I jet downwards, plummeting to the ground, and land swiftly in front of the entrance. I wonder what happened while I was gone... I open the door in curiosity and see everyone talking, eating breakfast, except I noticed a few different things.
Wendy and Romeo were sitting at a table together, talking as if they were best friends, Jellal came to visit Erza, Carla was being nice to Happy, and Lucy was with... Loke?! I blink a few times as I realize that people were starting to notice me, so I awkwardly walk in, grinning nervously. Lucy and Happy see me, causing them to bolt towards me, and I make a surprised sound as they hug me which seems more of a strangle. "Natsu!" They both say excitedly, and I choke out a small, "Hey." "How did the job go? Was it fun? What did you guys do?" Lucy asks me, and I tilt my head, trying to think of an answer. "It was... Okay. We didn't really do that much, just the usual," I crack a grin, and Happy states suddenly, "You seem different..." I gulp, figuring out quickly that the subject was getting a bit dangerous. "Why? I'm still Natsu!" I force a grin, trying to be the usual energetic self they knew, but Lucy leans closer, not buying it. "Really, what happened?" She asks me, causing myself to back away, smiling nervously, and say, "N-nothing big!" She sighs, moving away, stating, "I'm going to figure it out, whether you like it or not!" Oh great, maybe it wasn't a good idea to come to the guild. But the food! I take a whiff, causing myself to jet towards the smell, realizing that the usual line of food was set on the table in the back, and I grab a bit of everything, piling my plate until it's a breakfast mountain. I head to where the crew was, eyeing the food hungrily, and sit down next to Gajeel, who's talking with Levy. I look up, seeing Erza and Jellal smiling, talking to each other, but they notice I'm here and Erza asks, "Good morning, Natsu, how was your day yesterday?" I shift uncomfortably, remembering that she was the one who punished me, and I look away, saying, "It was okay." "What happened?" She persists, causing myself to chew on my lip, feeling even more uncomfortable, and manage to say, "Nothing really..." "Tell me, or Gray's going to answer for you-" "Okay, fine! We decided to get along for the day, walking around the town and checking out stuff, that's it," I blurt out, flustered, and she makes a disappointed sound, causing myself to stare at her in confusion. "Why did you-" "Never mind, you should eat," Erza says, pointing to the mountain of pancakes, waffles, bacon, and eggs on my plate. "Okay..." I drift off, stuffing food into my mouth uncomfortably. This isn't going well... It's going to turn even worse if Gray comes- I hear the door creak open, causing myself to sigh, seeing that I jinxed myself. Well, this is going to be a long morning...