HELLO! Itsa me. I'm so sorry about the super super long time it took me to update. But here is a super fluffy chapter, with even more fluff waiting for y'alls next time :)

-The demon :D

Friend Please

Eight: Twisted Hearts and Twisted Ankles

Gray was going to throttle Natsu Dragneel. He didn't care about the aftermath, the prison sentence or the guilt. Because right then, the raven haired chem major was so fuming mad, there was not a single rational thought in his head.

The one time Gray asks something of the pinkette, he messes it up. And not even a little, like I-bought-the-wrong-toilet-paper sort of screw up, more like the I-told-you-I-would-take-care-of-it-and-I-didn't type, which, especially under these circumstances, was millions of times worse.

After reading Juvia's letter the previous day, Gray had been in a spectacular mood. He was beyond elated. The man was so giddy, he would randomly breaking out in giggles. This, along with many other strange things he had been doing, caused his friends to be...well...concerned. The college student was normally so well put-together and composed. He rarely ever showed emotion (save his violent arguments with his supposed best friend). He prided himself on separating work from play, taking his schooling seriously will taking his partying equally seriously.

He had done everything right that day to ensure he would be able to meet up with Juvia. Luckily, he didn't have any courses scheduled for that day at all, so it would be easy for him to go meet the beautiful girl. He had even gone so far as to get ahead in some of his course work, being able to concentrate for the first time in a week. Knowing he would be able to see her again so soon cleared that annoying part of his subconscious mind, the section that randomly made him think of her while he tried to work. With that pressure taken off his shoulders, he had been really productive that day, being able to finish all those assignments that had been starting to pile up.

Gray spent the whole day studiously working in the quiet of his room. He had his headphones in, listening to calming "Sleeping at Last" instrumentals. Every so often, he would get up to make a snack or something. In those break periods, he found his mind wandering to Juvia. Her gorgeous, blue hair, her sweet disposition, her adorable wide-eyed gaze. Everything about her made Gray oddly happy, made him smile and want to celebrate.

Around 3 o'clock, the man decided he could no longer live on junk food alone. Taking only his coat with him, he didn't bother taking his keys as Natsu promised he would be home in twenty minutes. He knew it had more than sufficient time.

He had faith that his best friend, dimwitted as he was at times, would know to be home on time, as he was aware Gray had places to be later that evening.

Forty five minutes and a full, home-cooked meal (courtesy of the wonderful Mirajane), the man made his way through the snow (deeper than before, if that is even possible) to his apartment. And of course, just when he needed him, Natsu was a no show.

No note, no text message, not a word. He was so ready to kill him. Like, ready past the point of caring of consequences. Ready to the point where he was devising different ways to kill him with his personal items. Because, without him, Gray was incapable of gaining entry to his own apartment. Even though he knew he was partially at fault for not bothering with his own keys, he was happier placing all the blame on Natsu. It made his head rest easier.

You see, Gray needed to go back to his apartment. Because his wallet was there. Of course, he was too stupid to have brought it with him before leaving, so now he was suffering the consequences. For a few moments, he considered leaving to meet the beautiful girl without a penny on him, before quickly deciding that waiting was the better course of action. This time, Gray was not going to let her go easily. He intended on bringing her out to a nice dinner, spending his time getting to know the blue-haired beauty. Sadly, he could only do that if Natsu decided to show his stupid, ugly face.

The man waited impatiently for the next hour and some odd minutes, pacing. He wanted to go outside, anywhere but that stupid hallway, but he feared he would leave and Natsu would appear while he was elsewhere.

Finally, at five to five, Natsu decided to show his face. His hair was disheveled and he had a rather...mysterious mark on his neck. Deciding not to ask, Gray put aside his homicidal thoughts while he sprinted to grab the black wallet waiting for him on his desk. He didn't even acknowledge his friend, as he was running so late, he had not a second to spare. He would have to wait until his return to yell at the pink-haired college student.

Gray ran faster than he had ever before, pushing his way through the mob of students ending their long days. Ignoring the grunts and calls that he left in his wake, he made his way through the ridiculously thick snow, with the only thing motivating him being the face of the girl waiting for him in the library. He knew he was running late and prayed on everything holy that she would still be there when he finally arrived. Of course, because of his luck, the library she wanted to meet him at was across the campus, meaning he needed to sprint there to hope to catch her, which (of course) he did without a second thought.

After what seemed like eons, he finally arrived at the tall and picturesque building, not stopping to admire how beautiful it looked in the soft, white snow. He was so close to his goal, it was at the tip of his fingers. Even though they studied at the same college and lived so close, he had never felt physically near her in those agonizing days. Instead, he felt as if she were light years away, hidden miles under the sea, buried under the Earth's surface. Now, she was finally back in his atmosphere and he couldn't wait another second, as the anticipation was slowly driving him mad and killing him.

Gray was so eager to meet the girl, he didn't stop once he had passed through the library's large doors. He kept moving, too quickly for his own good, without pausing to look where he was going. He knew exactly which section she spoke of and ran there as if he were on auto-pilot. Sadly, because of his recklessness, he didn't notice her before it was too late.

Bamn!

The collision seemed to hurt her more than it had hurt Gray. While he was completely unaffected, she was knocked to the ground. The dark haired boy's eyes widened as his eyes took in the girl's figure on the floor, grasping her ankle in pain. Immediately kneeling down, he went to comfort her, his mind pausing in shock as he slowly recognized the beauty before him.

Juvia.

He sat in front of her, unmoving in pure shock, as he took in the situation. Gray felt sick to the stomach as he watched the girl squirm in pain as she clutched her ankle, softly whimpering in pain as she did so.

"I am so sorry, oh my God," he said, at last finding his voice. His words were soaked in regret as Juvia's eyes began to water. It seemed that the collision really had done more damage than he had first expected. He gingerly reached over to inspect her ankle himself, paying extra attention to be gentle with her injured limb. He felt sick to the stomach as he saw the redness and swelling he had caused.

All because of him, the one girl he had been aching to see all week was suffering.

"Does it hurt?" he whispered, leaning back to look at her soft features. She nodded ever so slightly, trying so hard to contain her pain.

"It's okay, I think. Just twisted." she murmured back, her voice dripping with pain and suffering. It was clearly badly sprained at the least, meaning she would be unable to walk for quite some time. Needing to bring her to a first aid kit and trained professional, Gray knew he couldn't make her stand on her own. That left one option.

Doing the one thing he could think of, he slid his coat on her shoulders, lifted the beautiful girl in his arms, and carried her out the door and into the setting light of the winter sun, ignoring the sharp pain of the snow that hit his face and bare arms. He would fix this, if it was the last thing that he would do.