Updating twice in one day what whaaaat! P.S. leave a review ;]
Gray switched his phone to his other ear, sighing in annoyance. "No, Cana, I don't know where to get churros."
"What do you mean you don't know where? There's gotta be a place!" came Cana's voice on the other end. "Why don't you ask Erza?"
"Because...wait, what? Why don't you ask Erza?"
"Uhhh...I can't. You have to."
"What? I- " He was interrupted by the unexpected chimes of a doorbell. He frowned to himself. "Who could that be?" he muttered.
"What?" Cana asked. Gray leaned back in his chair and opened the curtain a bit, looking down from his room window to the driveway, but there was no car or person in sight. They probably parked up the street...
"I'm hanging up on you." he told Cana.
"What? Why?"
"We can talk when you get here." he told her, hanging up and putting his phone on his desk. The chimes rang again, the high pitched noise resonating through his house. "Yeah, I'll be there, jeez…" he murmured, making his way downstairs.
The doorbell rang one last time, as Gray grabbed the gold knob and opened the door. "Yeah, yeah, what's up?" he asked, voice the slightest bit annoyed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be obnoxious."
Gray widened his eyes, their voice suddenly registering. "Erza? What are you doing here?" he asked, shocked.
"I was on my way to Mira's, as the plan originally went, but I realized I live closer to you than her." she told him, referring to their friend group's dinner plans tonight. "So I figured I'd wait here until- " She suddenly reached out, smacking him in the arm.
"Ow! What the hell?!" Gray exclaimed, holding his arm in pain.
"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?!"
"Because I- oh, shoot." Gray looked down at his bare chest in confusion. "I really don't know, I don't remember taking it off…"
Erza groaned, pushing him aside as she walked in. "You have a problem, you know that?"
"Only because you tell me every freakin day…" Gray shut the door after her, massaging his arm. "You want anything? Water, juice, snack?"
"I'm good. We'll be eating soon anyway."
"True." A silence fell between them. "So...how have you been?"
"I've been...okay, I guess. How have you been?"
"Pretty good. Now that soccer's over, I can finally go out and- " He was interrupted by the loud chimes of a cell phone. He stared at Erza, who stared back at him. "You gonna get that?" he asked, referring to her phone.
"Oh. Right." She gave the screen a wary glance, before flicking the volume off and setting it on the counter. "You were saying?"
"Right, so now that we don't have practices every day I can start working, so my project to buy- " He was interrupted a second time by her phone, which was now vibrating loudly on the marble countertop. "You can get that, if you want."
"No! No, it's not important." she responded defensively, "I'll just turn it off." She grabbed the phone, wary expression still on her face.
Gray leaned towards her. "Whoever it is must be- "
"-No one! Important...No one important, I mean." Erza nodded, putting her phone in her pocket.
Gray frowned at her. "Why are you acting so weird?"
"I'm not, I'm simply- " This time Erza was interrupted, but to her relief, it was the doorbell. Gray gave her a suspicious arch of his eyebrow, before walking to the door.
He opened the door to see Mira in front of him. "Hey, I'm just- "
"Gray! I- oh my god, please put on a shirt." Mira shook her head.
Gray looked down, again forgetting he was shirtless. "I didn't mean to!"
"Right. Anyway, you ready? After you get dressed, I mean."
"Yeah, do you want me to- "
"-Oh, are we leaving?" Erza asked, appearing behind him.
Mira looked back and forth between them, eyes wide. "Erza, you're- oh my god!" she shrieked, pointing at them. "You two- no shirt- oh my god!"
Both Gray and Erza's faces reddened. "Stop that Mira, it's not what you think- "
"And you said you didn't remember why you took your shirt off! Liar!" she laughed. "We'll be in the car when you're ready." She winked at the last word.
"Why you…" Erza grumbled, raising her hand to smack her friend.
Gray caught Erza's arm, rolling his eyes. He turned to Mira. "We're fine. As I was saying, do you want me to drive, or do you have your van?"
"I'm driving. So hurry up! And don't make us wait too long." She giggled to herself before running off, barely escaping Erza's hand.
"I can meet you in the car." Gray said, turning to Erza.
"I'll wait for you. If you're not there to hold me back I might give Mira a black eye."
"Alright, I'll be quick." Gray spoke. He sprinted up the stairs to his room, throwing on a gray V-neck shirt that oddly happened to be on the floor. Maybe I do have a problem…he thought, running back downstairs. He looked at Erza, who was standing in the foyer, holding a hand to her still-evident blush. He cleared his throat. "You ready?"
"Yeah." Erza nodded, and they walked out. They walked to the end of the driveway, expecting to see Mira's black van, but instead saw her small, silver 5 seater, and their friends standing around it.
"Um, where's the van?" Gray asked. Mira's black van fit eight people including her, and every time they went out as a group they used up all the seats, even the wide trunk. He blinked, but the 5 seater was still in front of them.
"At home, duh! Hop in, it'll be cozy!" Mira laughed.
"I call shotgun!" Cana shouted.
Before Erza could even react their friends had piled into the car...except for her and Gray. "Oh." she realized.
"What're you waiting for? Get in already!" Cana called.
"Yeah, the food'll be cold before we know it!" Natsu added.
"There's no room me and Gray." Erza pointed out.
"Oh, gee, that's a problem," Lucy agreed, looking between her friends. "I guess you'll have to sit on Gray's lap, then!"
A crimson blush fell Erza's face. "What?! On- his lap?!" she spat, surprised.
"Yeah, my lap?!" Gray added.
"Yes, your hearing is spot on. Let's go." Lyon remarked sarcastically.
Erza shook her head, turning around and pointing to Gajeel and Levy, who were walking down the street to Gajeel's car. "It's fine, I'll ride with them."
"No, you can't!" Mira exclaimed. Erza stared at her suspiciously. "Uh, I mean, you shouldn't! Because...um…"
"Because...they're claustrophobic! They need to drive by themselves, or they'll get...stomachaches!" Natsu covered frantically. Lucy and Lyon slapped themselves.
Gray snorted. "Stomachaches? And Gajeel? Yeah, right." He turned to Erza, "If you're cool riding with them on the way there, I can ride on the way back?" he offered.
While Gray and Erza were talking, Natsu turned to Lucy. "Luce, sit on my lap." he whispered.
Lucy's face reddened this time. "What? Why?!" she whispered back.
"Because, then they won't feel awkward if we're doing it too!"
"And what about Lyon?!"
"You know how big his butt is, my legs would definitely break- "
"No, not that! Won't he feel awkward? Y'know, as he's sitting in the middle?!"
"Oh...nah!" Natsu shrugged, and in one swift motion picked Lucy up onto his lap. He yanked Lyon to the center seat and patted the newly opened one. "Hop in, guys! We're gonna be late!"
Gray and Erza stared blankly at the open seat, before Gray took a hesitant step inside. "Alright...I guess." he spoke, looking at Erza warily.
She stepped towards him. "So, um, this is, uh, fine?" she asked, ignoring her blush.
"Just..tell me if you feel uncomfortable, I guess." he gulped. Erza gave him a final nod, before slipping inside and sitting on his lap.
"Alright, now let's get this party started!" Mira cheered, backing out the driveway.
After what seemed like forever, Mira finally stopped at the restaurant. Lyon was the first one out of the car, leaping over Gray and Erza and gasping for air on the black asphalt of the parking lot. "That was terrible! I couldn't breathe, why didn't you open a goddamn window?!" he shouted at Mira and Cana, who had peacefully exited the car.
Cana grabbed his arm, yanking him towards her. "In case you didn't notice-" she hissed, gesturing to Gray and Erza, who were talking to each other, "There are some things more important than your discomfort." Lyon smacked her arm but quieted nonetheless, remembering their plan.
"Guys, I just realized I cashed in my work check! I can spend as much as I want!" Lucy announced, giggling in excitement.
"Agreed, Lucy. I had a good work week as well." Erza added with a proud smile. The seven of them walked inside, ready to eat.
Inside they found Levy and Gajeel already at a large table, browsing menus. The seven of them walked to the podium, standing in front of the host, an old man. "It's past 6, so everyone is $15 a meal." he informed them cheerily.
"I can pay first," Erza spoke, stepping forward. She smiled kindly at the man and reached into her back pocket...only to find that it was empty. She frowned, stuffing her hands in her other pockets.
"What is it?" Mira asked from behind her.
Erza rummaged through her bag frantically. "I..I can't find my wallet..." She looked up to the host, "Sorry, I swear it was just here..." But her search came up empty. She turned to Lucy. "Lucy, can you pay for me? My wallet seems to be missing."
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, of course!" She almost had her money out when Cana slapped a hand on her shoulder. She almost yelped, but realized what the brunette meant. "Uh, sorry, Erza, I forgot I didn't cash in my check. I don't have anything...Cana's paying for me."
Cana gave the blonde a glare, before turning to Erza. "Darn, I only have enough for me and Luce. I guess Gray'll have to pay for you, Erza." she said.
The redhead looked at Gray, and shook her head, "Oh no, I'm sure I can-"
But Gray had already stepped beside her. "Don't worry about it, Erza." he assured her, handing his card to the cashier. "For both of us, please."
Erza blushed to herself. "Thanks, Gray." she mumbled. Lucy, Cana, and Mira kept themselves from squealing- Erza's feelings for the navy haired boy were getting more obvious by the second!
"What a nice boyfriend you are! It's hard to find the chivalrous ones these days." the old man commented, giving Gray a cheery smile as he swiped his card.
Gray and Erza looked confusedly between each other and the old man. She chuckled, trying not to show her obvious embarrassment at his comment. "Erm..sorry, sir, but he's...we're not...he's not my boyfriend." she stammered.
"Yeah, she's not my girlfriend." Gray added just as awkwardly.
The old man winked. "You keep tellin' yourselves that. Have a good day, kids." he chuckled. They shuffled off to the side, smiles on their obviously flustered faces.
Lyon stared at his phone, which was pinging away with messages. He blushed at the screen, seeing that the three new ones were from Meredy, asking if he was free. He had talked to the pink haired girl only a couple days ago, but they'd been texting ever since.
"Lyon! No phones at the dinner table!" Mira scolded him.
The white haired boy flinched in response. "God, Mira, don't yell like that!" He put the device on 'vibrate.' "Besides, it's not my fault. We're still waiting for food." he told her, gesturing to the appetizer bowls that they had just finished.
"Yeah, but while we wait, we can talk about your friend." Cana spoke, snatching Lyon's phone out of his hand. "Who's the lucky lady?"
Lyon barely had enough time to react. "Hey, that's mine- "
"Ooh, Meredy? Who's that?" Cana asked, smirking as she leaned away from Lyon's grasping hands.
"She's just a friend, now would you give that back- "
"Just a friend? With the way you're acting, I'd think you guys were secretly dating."
"Who's Lyon dating?" Erza asked from her spot in the middle.
"No one! I'm not dating anyone!" Lyon responded.
"If he's dating anyone, it's Juvia. Simple as that." Gajeel remarked, pushing his small plate in front of him.
"I'm not dating her either!"
"But if you're not texting Juvia..." Cana's eyes lit up. "Two timer!" she laughed, pointing at Lyon.
"It doesn't matter, Juvia would wait for him either way." Gajeel pointed out.
"Speaking of waiting, where in the world is our waiter?" Levy frowned, looking around the busy restaurant. "He said he'd have the main course soon- "
As if on cue, a fancy pasta dish was placed in front of Levy. "Sorry for the long wait. We had to switch waiters." Everyone looked up to see Freed distributing their dishes.
"Ay, Freed, what's up?" Gray greeted, exchanging a handshake with his friend.
"Freed! You- uh, you look great!" Mira complimented the green haired boy's black and white attire, obviously flustered by his sudden presence.
Freed grinned. "Thanks, it's required." He turned to everyone, "If you need anything, just let me know." he told them, walking off.
Mira reached out for her water glass, gulping the entire thing. "Jesus, what happened with you?" Gajeel frowned.
"This is not happening." Mira shook her head, turning to Cana. "I thought you said Freed wasn't working today!"
Cana laughed. "And where would the fun in that be?" She frowned, seeing Mira put her head in her hands. "Why are you freaking out? It doesn't matter that much."
"Yes, it does," Mira looked up at her. "Because Laxus is coming!"
Lyon laughed loudly. "Are you serious?!"
"Unfortunately, yes." Mira groaned into her hands. "This is not what I wanted."
"Why don't you text Laxus and ask if he can cancel?" Levy suggested, pushing Mira's phone to her.
Mira nodded. "You're right, I should do that." she agreed, taking her phone and typing furiously.
"Fingers crossed he doesn't show up. We barely have enough room as it is." Erza murmured, nudging Cana's outstretched arm out of her vicinity.
Lucy looked around their table. "Speaking of showing up," she frowned, "where's Natsu?" She motioned to the empty seat next to her.
"He's probably giving food to the stray cats outside." Gajeel shrugged, taking a bite from his dish. The rest of them shrugged as well, nodding in agreement.
"Yo, Freed, this food is bomb." Gray complimented his friend, who had come to clear their table.
"Agreed. The chefs are really good." Freed nodded, grabbing their dirty plates and stacking them up in one swift motion.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever be hungry again." Erza chuckled.
"Well, I hope you all have room for dessert, because it's on its way." he informed them, before walking back to the kitchen.
"Dessert?! Count me in!" came Natsu's excited voice.
Lucy whipped her head to him, frowning in shock. "And where did you come from?!"
"Me? I've been here."
"You have not!"
"Have too!"
"Where were you just ten minutes ago?"
"Here!" Natsu scoffed. "You think I'd skip dinner and dessert? Now that's crazy."
"Actually, we'll have to take dessert to go." Mira spoke, worriedly looking at her phone.
"Why? This place doesn't close for a while." Gajeel shook his head, nodding at the clock on the wall.
"Because a certain tall, blonde man plans on joining us shortly."
"What? I thought you texted him to cancel!" Levy asked.
"Yes, yes, I know." Mira put her head in her hands. "But he was coming from rugby, and he was already on his way…"
Lyon shook his head. "Just the thing we needed. A fight between Laxus and Freed."
"Who says they'll fight? They're...good friends!"
Cana laughed. "Please, Mira. As long as you're in the equation their friendship is pretty much nonexistent."
Erza chuckled to herself. "Talk about a dilemma."
"A Miralemma?" Gray added.
Erza rolled her eyes. "That's has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard you say." she shook her head, but laughed anyway.
Mira, on the other hand, groaned in frustration. "Ugh, this could not get any worse- "
"Excuse me, Miss?" a new voice interrupted. One of the waiters had walked up to Lucy, tapping her shoulder.
The blonde turned to him. "Yes?"
"I'm Mr. Royston, the manager of this restaurant. Was there a pink haired man sitting with you?"
She nodded cautiously. "Yes, Natsu, he's right here!" She turned to the seat next to her, but Natsu wasn't there. Confused, she turned back to the man. "Sorry, I don't know where he is. Can I help you with something?"
"Yes, control him."
"What- " She followed his finger to see he was pointing at Natsu, who was definitely not sitting next to her. The pink haired boy was across the restaurant, arguing with a couple. The couple looked angry, and Lucy noticed that their bread roll basket was empty. She put her head in her hands as soon as she saw the bread rolls in Natsu's hands, hidden behind his back. "Oh, dear lord."
"If he doesn't behave himself, we will have to kick your party out of the restaurant."
Gajeel laughed, "Oh, classic Natsu- "
"Yes! Kick us out!" Mira interjected, but was immediately shushed by Cana, who wasn't yet finished with her pasta.
Lucy watched as two waiters escorted Natsu back to their table, sitting him next to Lucy. She turned to Mr. Royston. "I'm so sorry, is there any way we can make this up to you?"
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." he told her, before walking off with his employees.
"Of course!" Lucy apologized. As soon as they were a safe distance away, she turned to Natsu. "And what were you doing?"
Natsu shrugged. "They had extra bread, I was helping them out!"
"Natsu, that's stealing."
"Of course, why would I give it back to them? It'd be in my stomach by then."
She turned away from him, putting her head in her hands. "This cannot get any worse."
"Just as you requested," Freed announced, suddenly appearing, "chocolate lava cakes!" he told them, handing the desserts to each of them.
Lyon sat up in excitement. "Oh, finally." he exclaimed. "This is what we needed, thanks Freed!"
"Of course. It's the best dessert we have here, in my opinion."
"Well, it's definitely the best thing that's come out of tonight, am I right?" Gajeel joked.
Levy almost laughed, but rolled her eyes. "Gajeel please, the last thing we need is an expression that gives us bad karma- "
"-Did someone say the best thing?" A new voice exclaimed. They all turned to see Laxus had arrived, still in his rugby warmup. "Hey Mira, you look great." he spoke, walking to the white haired girl. "Is that lava cake?"
"Yes, and it's for Mira." Freed interrupted, giving Laxus a raise of his eyebrow.
The two began their usual back-and-forth banter. Mira held her hands between them. "Please, both of you, be quiet!" she said in an attempt to end a potential fight before it started.
Natsu laughed at the three of them. "Hey, talk about dinner and a show, am I right?"
Lucy turned to him. "You're in no position to be laughing at anything. I'm still mad at you for lying to me!"
"What? I did not!"
"You did too! I asked where you were, and you said you were here the whole time!"
"I didn't exactly say that…"
This time, Gajeel laughed. "What we really need is a small room. That would really bring everyone together, huh?" he snickered to Levy.
Erza frowned. "Well, that wouldn't be beneficial to anyone. The last thing we need is your claustrophobia acting up." she responded.
"My what?" the black haired boy asked. Lyon and Cana looked between them, before smacking a hand to their faces.
"Your claustrophobia. Which is what happens when you're in an enclosed space, is it not? Thus a small room wouldn't help."
Gajeel snorted. "Right. I have claustrophobia." he answered sarcastically.
"Yeah, with his feelings…" Levy muttered.
"Wait, what did you just say?" Gajeel asked, turning to the small blue haired girl.
"Nothing, no communication here. Am I right?" Levy added sarcastically, and the two began arguing as well.
While the three arguments around them continued, Gray turned to Erza. "Talk about a mess."
"Right. Maybe getting dinner wasn't the best idea." Erza agreed, laughing slightly.
"I think it's a good idea, but maybe not with...everyone."
She nodded in agreement. "Dinner at my house would never get to this point."
Gray raised an eyebrow. "Is that an offer?"
Erza shrugged. "Maybe it is." she responded, smiling at him.
Unbeknownst to them, Cana had heard their conversation. She smirked to herself, continuing to eat her cake. Lyon leaned toward her, rolling his eyes. "Please, tell me you got something out of this whole ordeal. Other than Erza's wallet, I mean."
Cana nodded, smirking at her friend. "Of course I did."
Now that it's summer I promise I'll be better at updating! I love writing this but I'm also a perfectionist, which is why it takes me so long. Thanks 4 all da love n support, yall the best FR fr :3
-Pinky