Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not and sadly will never belong to me but this plot does! I'll sue you if you attempt to steal it haha ^w^ *LOL

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(A/N: And we're back! Tsumiki-san, my 'assistant' as she likes to call herself, was going through my reviews and since she never misses an update of my stories, she was telling me "itami-senpai, the atmosphere around D2L is seriously intense". I wondered for a while… Is it really that gloomy?

That aside, D2L is back with chapter 22! So buckle up and get ready! Because guess what? This is the WENDY CHAPTER!)

Continue:

Gray placed a cheese and ham sandwich designed to look like a cute ':P' face on the dining table and began walking towards Lucy's room to call her out. He had been thinking… was she really so insecure now about dating? Or was she just unsure of his own character as a whole? Had he passed the test? What happens if he did? He had been focusing on finding various answers to the said questions that haunted his mind.

But far at a really small corner of it all, lurking, was the thought of Wendy. What if he failed? Would that mean that he wouldn't be able to fulfill his promise to Wendy yet again? Would that mean that he would never have a chance with Lucy?

With thoughts all scrambled up, he reached out to the handle of the door, "Lu –" but stopped midway when he heard voices coming from inside. 'She must be on a call, I'd better let her finish' he decided and was just about to walk away when something caught the attention of his ears.

"…It'll hurt a lot if it were to be him…more than it did the last time…" came Lucy's voiced. Gray's heart stopped for a second, 'is she talking about…me?' He couldn't help it…he forced himself to leave but his feet wouldn't move. Lucy paused as though listening to someone from the other end of the line and then she replied.

"no…I just can't muster the courage to…" The courage to do what? He wondered… Was there something bothering her? Something she was finding hard to share with him?

"…No" The conversation went on. It sounded like a really serious conversation… Gray didn't know if it was okay for him to be eavesdropping like this but he just couldn't avoid it!

Gray waited in dreaded anticipation and then came the next words… "I'm in love with him…Yukino-chan…" She said in a voice filled with emotion so powerful, he could feel it all the way till outside! That moment took his breath away… His heart began to pound, 'Bdump! Bdump!'

He had almost forgotten how to breathe! Was that really how she felt? She wasn't just saying she had feelings for him…she loved him? He didn't know why but…it all just didn't feel real!

Suddenly it dawned upon him, what if it really wasn't him she was talking about?! His expression changed in an instant! And all forms of 'what-if's begun to flow through his mind… only to be ended with one statement from an overly frustrated and flustered blonde.

"UGH! If only I could just say that so easily to Gray himself!" Came the sound followed by a 'thud' and Gray couldn't help but smile if ever so slightly. Maybe his love story wasn't so impossible after all?

But other than that, he also now knew that it wasn't long before the dare would be over and once and for all, he could tell Lucy how he felt about her…he wanted to convince her that he wouldn't let what happened to her last time happen again… He felt that as long as she didn't know about the dare, he'd be able to keep her happy…it was something he really wanted to do…he wanted to protect her…and mostly, he wanted to protect that carefree smile…

He smiled as he remembered her little private confession and thought, 'It'll be our little secret' as he knocked on the door.

"Why're you knocking dumbo" She said in whiny voice. Gray chuckled as he turned the knob and walked in.

"Well, I wouldn't want to disturb your privacy…you know when alone, a girl may do or say a lot of things to herself that she'd rather keep to herself" He winked at her as he said that. He had clearly given her the most obvious of clues about the fact that he had heard everything but as dense as Lucy turned out to be or maybe she was just too tired, she didn't catch a single bit of it and waved it off.

He reached out to her hands and entwined them with his…Lucy felt her heartbeat rise for a moment as she felt the current between them, but soon, it began to get steady… She liked this…she liked the warmth she felt when he held her hands… she felt herself being enveloped in his warm yet cold aura… she felt it as she always did – the Gray effect… she thought.

'BADUMP!' "BADUMP!'

She could hear the echoing of her heart beat and she shut her eyes tight.

"Gray…I…" she began… 'this is it' she thought. She was going to do it this time! She was going to say it…tell him how she feels –

Out of the blue Gray's phone sounded and he picked it up, "What's up" Lucy felt her heart sink. Just when she had finally mustered even if a tiniest bit of courage to say something, something else has to come up.

"What?!" He exclaimed in reaction to whatever was said on the other line. Lucy looked at him curiously. She watched as Gray waited in silence, listening to whatever the person was saying and saw how his expressions turned hard…and full of worry…

"I-I'll be right there" He said quickly and dropped the call.

He didn't even say anything and began to rush his way towards the front door. Lucy followed after him, feeling a bit anxious too… what could have happened? She wondered.

"Gray…What happened?" She asked as he walked out the front door. He didn't stop, but continued in a hurry.

"W-we'll talk later!" He shouted back as he hurried away… he sounded…restless? Lucy felt her stomach sink…she was really worried too. Something really serious must have happened for Gray to act like that. She felt an unsettling feeling as she thought, 'he never even glanced back once'.

LATER…

"Laki-san! Is she alright? Where is she?" Gray asked his voice trembling. He felt cold sweat leave his forehead…

"Gray calm down! I know you're really worried about her but…you know that these kind of minor attacks and fevers are very common in her situation… Please don't go in looking like a phantom. It might just make her condition worse." Laki, the nurse, explained.

Gray took a deep breath and nodded, trying to cool himself down. It was at times like these that his laidback personality came in handy… He placed his hand on the door knob and twisted it open slowly till it revealed a petite blunette…the girl looked so innocent yet pale and completely physically drained. She had lost the color of her skin and looked extremely feeble. It was a really sad sight for girl so young…

"G-Gray-nii san…?" The girl said weakly as she took off the oxygen mask. Gray's expression turned soft as he walked to her side and sat beside her. He couldn't stand to see her like that… A girl so young, so innocent, so kind and moreover, a girl that took him for an older brother…

"I knew you would come today…" She said, smiling a broken smile… it hurt to see her like that…when only years ago, she used to be so healthy and so cheerful.

"Wendy…" Gray sighed as he patted her head ever so softly as though her fragility was such that even the slightest bit of pressure may break her…

Wendy searched his eyes as though anticipating something. Her eyes began wandering behind him and eventually her expression fell to that of gloom. Gray felt a pang of guilt fill him up…he hadn't yet kept his promise…

"Wendy…I'm…please –" he began but was cut off when Wendy placed her hand over his as though telling him not to worry about it.

"I've already accepted that my wish can't come true and soon…I might even…" Gray stopped her in between.

"Nothing like that will happen Wendy. Please don't say things like that… I promised you right? Just three more days…" Gray convinced her and he didn't fail to notice the new shining ray of hope in her eyes. He needed to do this…he needed to win this dare for Wendy's sake.

Why were things so complicated…? Gray wondered… He couldn't abandon Wendy and at the same time he couldn't hurt Lucy…even if he hid the dare part from Lucy, wouldn't that just be like keeping her in the dark? Was it really okay to do that? If she found out…would she forgive him?

There was so much he wanted to say to her…so much he wanted to express…but the dare was just keeping him held back and restrained. 'What is restraining Luce?' he wondered. She hadn't confessed to him straight yet…He could think of many reasons but which one was the right one, he couldn't say. Valentines prom was in three days… Valentines day itself was in two… Was she really not sure about him after all? But wasn't she the one who had said to whoever on the phone that she 'loved' him? Was she just nervous? Wait…he thought…then she was able to share her feelings for him with someone else and yet she couldn't do the same with him? Then there was another person who knew way more than he did? Who could that be…?

Lucy walked over to the dining table to find a really cute sandwich with a ':P' face… she smiled. Everything he did was just so unique… Thanks, Gray…she thought to herself…for changing me…

She knew it now…no matter what test she took, the outcome would always be the same. There was no one like him… her heart was now entirely convinced. She wanted to tell him… she wanted to tell him how she felt about him and how important he was to her. She wanted to scream it out to the world… right now, she could do absolutely anything no matter how crazy or rash because now she knew and not just knew, she believed… there was no time she was happier than the times she spent with Gray… her fifty shades…

XoXo Fairy High oXoX

"Why's everyone so hyped up?" Lucy asked the other girls since the boys seemed nowhere to be found. She hadn't even seen Gray all day…

"Lu-chan…you have no idea about the football match today?" Levy asked expectantly.

"…football match?" Lucy echoed in confusion and Levy sighed in defeat.

"Our school's football team vs Lamia High's football team" Erza said.

"Lamia…as in Lyon's school?" Lucy confirmed and Ultear nodded.

"Yeah…And this match's going to be a serious one like always since the two team captains are 'brothers'…" Ultear smirked as she said.

"Hmm…this rivalry between the two teams has been top notch for a long time and it's still going strong" Cana pointed out, "It'll be a fun match"

"Not to mention that we'll get to see our captain play more 'seriously' since most of the games are a breeze for him" Lisanna added.

"You're right. Lyon's not one to joke with either after all. He's just about as good as Gray" Mirajane finally joined the conversation.

"So that means your supporting Lamia this time?" Erza raised a brow, grinning.

"No kidding… I'm definitely rooting for Gray" Cana said, looking all fired up.

"Me too!" Ultear cheered and everyone gave her questioning looks, "What?"

"Aren't you being too biased when they both are your brothers?" Lucy asked.

"Well, yeah but who cares…? I love them both but when it comes to football, I think Gray's got his own thing…when he's serious, you get to see some amazing things" Ultear defended herself.

"Anyway…so Lu-chan, you're coming to the stadium to watch too right?" Levy asked excitedly, "After all, Lu-chan wouldn't want to miss watching a match that's so important to Gray ne?" She whispered the last part and Lucy blushed scarlet. What happened to all the confidence? She wondered as she remembered how she was prepared to 'shout it to the world'… well, ever heard of hyperbole? There was no way in hell that she would be able to do something as bold as that!

"Yeah, I guess it'll be fun to watch" She finally replied. She hadn't seen Gray ever since last night and she was really worried about what that phone call was about and not to mention anxious to finally confess to him.

Then thoughts began to flow into her mind…from the way Gray was behaving, it's pretty clear that he liked her but…why hadn't HE ever said anything? She wondered about this…but settled for the only reasonable answer she could think of… he probably wanted to make sure she likes him back or something. But she still felt uneasy…someone like Gray liking someone like her just seemed a thought so alien that she found it hard to believe… 'NO!' she screamed in her head in annoyance, shaking her negative thoughts off, 'I'll get nowhere with all this stupid negativity…this time I'm not going to overthink… I'm sure…I'm sure that he's the right one…I'm sure that this is the right time and I'm sure this is what I want…'

Gray panted as he stopped for a moment on the field to catch a breath…the match was half-way through and he had been playing in super, full concentration. Lyon seemed to be doing the same however and it was really paying since their teams were caught in a tie for the time being. They just needed one more goal to create a difference and tighten their defense. Gray looked up for a moment to find what an amazing number of people had come to watch. Silly of him to not have noticed that before but he was just too concentrated. It was funny how people were so excited when it was just a simple football match between two high schools…

His eyes caught onto a blond suddenly and their eyes met. She smiled softly and in just that moment, he felt all his fatigue let go off him…he felt the strength fill his being again and continued playing.

The ball was in the clutches of Lamia High's Yuka…Lyon's 'right-hand man' as most would say. It was a very serious and intense situation for both teams because this was the match they were relying on to get rid of the historic 'tie match' ending that tended to come up every time they played against each other since the two brothers became captains of the teams. It was rather amazing how they had never managed to win against each other ever before! It had always ended in a tie… This match was probably Lyon's last one as captain as he'd be graduating and so this game was a crucial deciding factor to settle the long, strong rivalry.

"Gray…let's rough it up a bit" Gajeel said to Gray as they spread out on the field.

Lucy had never been into football as much as she seemed to be right now. The entire stadium was full of this ominous and intense atmosphere and everyone was serious…very serious… She herself was watching every detail carefully. She could tell that the players were all very skillful and she understood that Gray and Lyon really were the strongest in the game. She had never seen Gray so seriously intense and so concentrated…so fatigued… was this another shade of him?

Suddenly her heart jumped and the everyone leaned forward, some out of anxiety shut their eyes and Lucy watched as everything turned in slow motion. The ball was with Lyon and with skillful dribbling and teamwork with Yuka, they had made it close enough to Natsu…to the goal post… close enough to get a shot…close enough to win…close enough to defeat fairy tail and end this rivalry while emerging victorious… Would Natsu be able to block it?!

'Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!' Lucy exclaimed repeatedly in her mind… the time left for the match was shortening…this one goal could end up as the deciding factor! The ball was kicked in the most superior of manners…professionally it made its way to the goal post – Natsu came forward to dodge it but even then, Yuka came forward out of nowhere and changed the direction of the ball so that it was just passing Natsu…Natsu's eyes widened, Loke's heart stopped, Gajeel hung his head in despair…

The entire audience was in shock at the attack but just as the ball was making its way into the goal post, Gray swiftly launched himself onto it and kicked it away while sliding past the goal post… that had just GOT to hurt! It was the rashest yet most awesome block ever! The entire crowd went into cheers and whistles! There was no way they had expected anything like that! They had all given up hope but no one would have thought that fairy tail's captain would go so far as that…it was truly amazing…

Lucy could feel the urgency in heart drift away and wait…were those tears in her eyes?! Tears of what? Of relief?! She smiled happily…there was nothing that could stop him…she thought. But her smile suddenly faded away and so did the claps and cheers… Gray hadn't move from the ground… the way he had just dived in and slid across had definitely ought to have caused some sort of injury… The entire stadium was silent. The refree, Gildarts walked over.

"Gray you good?" He asked and Gray quickly got to his feet and the crowd got lively once again, happy that he was okay… but only Lucy noticed the flinched expression he had given and the slight bit of a stagger he had shown when trying to get up…he wasn't okay…she thought… he was just pretending… he was injured…

She felt her being fill with worry. Was he still going to play despite that? Was he crazy?!

"Gray…you're one hell of a captain" Lyon smirked knowingly.

"That's because he's OUR captain" Loke added in and they went back to their respective positions. Surely the players on the field were aware that the fairy captain had gotten gravely injured. Gildarts was aware as well but seeing that Gray wouldn't back down, they knew there was no point arguing.

The last minute of the game… Loke kicked the ball to Gray and just at that moment, Gray shot the ball so hard that it just shot into the goal post with not a single moment for action. Everyone erupted in cheers! Fairy Tail had done it! The long bittersweet rivalry was over and Fairy Tail was the victor! But not only that…the crowd was also moved and overwhelmed by the fairy captain… they had truly seen a fine game today…

"Crap!" Gray exclaimed as he felt the excruciating pain overwhelm him. The match was over…he was now in the boy's locker room, in his own changing room…the others were long gone…

"Gray!" A feminine voice filled with worry called out to him and his eyes widened when he caught sight of the blonde who was face showed expressions of worry, anger, relief, among many other things… Her eyes welled up and her cheeks flushed. Wait…why was she blushing again?

Lucy heart went whoppers when she noticed that he was shirtless…she had never seen him shirtless before so she couldn't help the blush that was forming on her cheeks! He was so well-built… with 6-pack abs?! not to mention the firm chest…among many other things… *ahem ahem*

She quickly shook her head and her mind went back to that of rage. Gray was caught in extreme perplexity and amusement at the blondes constant change of expressions…suddenly out of the blue he felt a hard sting on his cheek….crap, she just slapped him…

"Gray you idiot!" She shouted annoyed, tears on the corner of her eyes.

He felt his heart clench…why was she so mad at him? Had she…found out? He was caught in the extreme of extremes! Was this…it? He wondered when suddenly he felt her head against him as she constantly punched his chest…of course as delicate as her hand were, there was no way it could hurt…

"What kind of idiot continues playing when he's injured?!" She shouted. And all his worries just vanished. Wait what?! He exclaimed. So that was it?! She was just worried about…him getting injured? He felt his lips quirk up a bit…

"Were you…worried about me?" He asked smirking slightly.

"No not at all, idiot" She replied softly in utter sarcasm.

A/N: Cut~! Great work minna!

Wendy: I'm FINALLY here :D !

Sting: *sigh* when do I get some screen time?

Itami(chan/san)/SDQueen: Pretty soon Sting-kun… the first half of D2L is almost over… season 1 will finish after chapter 25 or 26! Then comes –

Gray: Season 2…

Itami(chan/san)/SDQueen: That's right! ^.^ D2L's season 2! Sabertooth – get ready for some action!

Sabertooth: HAI~!

I've been away for about 11 days this time so gomen… I'll make sure to update as frequently as I can but my final exams are going on right now so I might be busy for a while. But nevertheless, look forward to D2L's chapter 23!

NEXT CHAPTER: Don't miss out on D2L's chapter 23, another chapter filled with romance, angst, confusion and heartbreak… Will Lucy finally find her chance to speak her feelings?

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THANKS TO ALL THE NEW READERS, REVIEWERS, FOLLOWERS AND FAVORITE-RS. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WILL COME UP AFTER THE COMPLETION OF 42 CHAPTERS!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

JA'NE!