I had so many technical difficulties uploading this chapter ;-; but here it is wooo enjoy

Juvia looked up at the blue sky, almost taken aback by how nice it was outside. The sun shone down on her face, basking her in a ray of morning light. She closed her eyes, feeling the breeze wave her hair.

"Juvia? There was something you wanted to tell me?"

Right. She opened her eyes, turning to Lyon, who was occupying the seat next to her on the bench. "Yes, Lyon, there is." She felt her nerves catching up to her, her heart pulsing in her head. She mentally crossed her fingers, hoping this went exactly as she practiced at home. "Thank you for meeting me, especially before school."

The white haired boy shrugged. "It's no problem."

"Good." She took a deep breath. "Juvia has noticed that you are spending lots of time with Meredy." Lyon suddenly looked worried, but Juvia held up a hand. "It's okay. Juvia's very smart." she chuckled. "Juvia is glad for all the time we spent together, and that we're now friends. Is that...okay?" She looked at him nervously. "To stay friends?"

Lyon almost breathed a sigh of relief: here he thought Juvia was going to make him decide between her and Meredy, putting him in a position that didn't benefit any of them. But she was instead letting him go, in the best way possible. He smiled, nodding. "That is very okay with me."

Juvia sighed, smiling gratefully. "Good," she bowed her head, and stood up. "You've helped me a lot, Lyon. I'm very thankful for that." she smiled, and turned away, walking into school.

Lyon watched after her, eyes wide in surprise. Did she just- He stared after her. Did she just drop her third person speech?! But he smiled to himself. Thank you, Juvia, he thought. You've helped me too.

He stood up, walking into school as well. He wanted to find Gray- he had helped out with this love triangle the most, after all, even if he didn't know it. He looked around campus, searching for the navy haired boy. It's almost 8, he's usually out here-

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes falling to the back corner of the school green. It was an isolated part of the front lawn, and he wouldn't have stopped if he hadn't seen that distinct hair color. Erza was standing there, her back to him. But she wasn't alone. In front of her was Jellal. Lyon narrowed his eyes in suspicion. They were too far for him to read lips, but he could tell that they looked perfectly fine.

He watched as Jellal put a hand on her shoulder. As Jellal turned to leave Erza suddenly grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug. They looked at each other, smiling, before walking around the corner of the school, disappearing behind the brick building.

Lyon frowned. He recalled Jellal's words, how he said he was trying to win Ultear's trust, permanently. And Erza and Gray were basically a thing...He shook his head. Something isn't right.

Natsu looked down the hallway, jumping to see above the mass of people walking to third hour. He jumped one last time, seeing just the person he wanted at her locker. "Lucy!" he called, jumping in the air.

Lucy looked right at him, smiling as she waved back. "Hey," she greeted as he walked towards her. "What's up?" She was cheerful today, and that wasn't by accident: she had decided over the weekend that she would stop overthinking Natsu. She knew he was oblivious to most things, but he was also a teenage boy- if there was something between them, he would let her know, not leave her in the dark. And it worked- she wasn't spending all her time worrying about interaction they had.

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure I failed that pop quiz, but that's not what I needed." He looked at her, frowning slightly. "Can I ask you something?"

Lucy looked at him warily. "Look, if this is about me finding your back itch again, I think you'd better ask Gajeel instead- "

"No, no, not that! I told you that went away!" Natsu covered, shaking his head. "Have you gotten a present for Levy's birthday next week?"

"Of course! Actually, I bought her several." she smiled proudly. "Have you?"

"Well, that's the thing. You wanna help me find one?"

"I don't know, Natsu, I have a lot to do tonight- " She yelped as Natsu slumped over, planting his hands on her shoulders. "What- what are you doing?!"

"Please, Luce! I waited too long, and I have a bunch of ideas but I don't know what to pick, and- " He looked up at her. "Do you know how hard it is to shop for girls?"

Typical. she thought, recalling that Natsu had given her her birthday present a week after the day. She sighed, nodding. "Alright. We'll go tomorrow." She pushed his hands off, standing him up. "What were you thinking of getting?"

"Yay!" Natsu cheered. "Well, I was thinking she likes books, right? So I'd get her a book. But knowing her she probably has every book, because she is Levy, so- "

"What about me?"

The two turned to see Levy had joined them. Lucy widened her eyes, greeting her friend. "Nothing! How are you?" she covered.

Levy smiled, oblivious to the conversation she had walked into. "Pretty busy, actually. I feel like I haven't seen you guys."

"Yeah, that's because you've been hanging out with Gajeel damn near every day of the week!" Natsu pointed out.

Both girls turned to him, jaws dropped. "What?!" Lucy gasped, and turned to Levy. "And you didn't tell me?!"

"It's not like that!" Levy hissed, leaning forward. But she sighed, nodding slowly. "...But yes. We've been...hanging out."

"Oh my god!" Lucy squealed, grabbing her friend's hands. "I'm so happy, that's great!"

Both Natsu and Levy glared at her. "You know we hate it when you do that." Natsu told her, massaging his ears.

Lucy pouted. "I've been told that so many times…" She shook her head, turning back to Levy. "Wait, does this mean you've been hanging out? On school nights?"

Levy blushed as she nodded. "Yes. School nights too." Her eyes widened as she saw Lucy about to squeal. "-But for homework! Or videogames. But mostly homework!" She clasped her hands together. "We get along really well."

"Aw!" Lucy held a hand over her heart. "So that means the era of 'no feelings' Gajeel is over, huh?" she asked excitedly.

Levy's smile faltered. "I mean, I'd like to think so, but…" She shrugged. "He's acting normal. You know, no emotions, no feelings."

"Wait, really? But you make him so nervous and flustered all the time." Natsu snickered, "And trust me, nervous Gajeel, unlike angry-because-I-misplaced-his-mechanical-pencils Gajeel, is difficult to achieve."

Levy shrugged again. "I don't know. I feel like I'm looking for commitment, you know?" She held her hands out. "But don't get me wrong, I'm happy."

"Commitment?" Lucy asked.

"Y'know, something solid." She tilted her head in thought. "I'd like to see him step outside his box."

Lyon looked around their lunch table uneasily. "That's what I saw." he spoke, finished telling everyone about how he saw Erza and Jellal earlier that morning. He shook his head. "But they've both grown a lot since the breakup, so I'm sure it was nothing."

Mira frowned. "It's still weird though."

"I don't like it." Natsu agreed, scrunching his nose.

"It doesn't make sense, either," Levy added, "They didn't have much to talk about before, so what would they have to talk about now? Especially if they're with other people."

Lucy shook her head. "I hope everything's okay…"

Gray arrived at their table, sliding in next to Cana. "Hey guys, Erza here yet?" he asked excitedly.

Gajeel shook his head. "Not yet."

"Good," Gray smiled, leaning forward. "Because I want you guys to know first."

Cana gasped, putting a hand on her chest. "Oh my god, are you pregnant?"

Gray swatted her arm. "Dumb joke." he spoke, and turned to everyone else. "Guys, seriously. This is really weird, but…" He put his hands on the table. "I think I like Erza."

Lucy was the first one to react, squealing loudly. "AH! More things that make me happy!" She suddenly frowned, seeing everyone cover their ears. "It isn't that bad…" she murmured, slumping in her seat.

"I'm with Luce! Minus the squeal, of course." He reached over, smacking Gray's back. "All I can say is it's about time."

"I guess our work finally paid off." Mira winked, exchanging a proud nod with Cana.

Gray scoffed. "Yeah, right. You guys were too frickin obvious."

The entire table stared at him in shock. "We- what?!" Mira gasped.

"Yeah, what?!" Cana added.

"Come on. Really?" Gray scoffed again.

"Yes really. You're one of the most oblivious people I know!"

"You guys weren't sneaky at all. I'm sure Natsu could have figured it out too." He dodged the pink haired boy's fist. "I mean, I'll give you credit for getting the ball rolling, but…" He snickered. "You guys are way too extra about these things."

"Well, so much for that." Mira mumbled, slumping over the table.

"Damn." Cana chuckled to herself. "You learn well, Fullbuster."

"Wait, wait." Levy interrupted. "Gray, I'm really happy for you." She turned to everyone else. "But what about what Lyon saw this morning?"

Lyon sighed, "Yeah, you should probably know." He explained how he saw Erza and Jellal this morning.

Gray frowned. "But at the dinner Jellal and Ultear were- "

"Right, basically dating. I mean I didn't see them," He shuddered, recalling that his late arrival only gave him a 'friendly drive' with Jellal, "but Jellal is super committed to her."

"And Erza's really committed to you, if you didn't already know." Lucy added, turning to Gray. "I've never seen her put any guy at so much importance."

Lyon nodded. "Which is why I'm sure them talking wasn't anything serious, but you should probably know."

Gray frowned. It didn't make sense: she and Jellal hadn't spoken since their breakup, and she had talked about how she was done with him...and Jellal, he had moved on too... Gray shook his head. Maybe Lyon saw someone else… He looked around. "Well, what am I supposed to do now?"

Gajeel shook his head. "Nothin. Keep doing what you're doing, it's probably fine."

"Good afternoon, everyone." Erza greeted, arriving at their table. She sat across from Gray, smiling as she looked around. "Did I miss anything?"

Gray opened his mouth, about to ask if what Lyon had seen was true, but Cana cut him off. "Not much." she responded.

As everyone else began talking, Gray turned to Cana, frowning: what was that for? If he was going to act on Erza, he might as well start with the truth.

But Cana gave him a look: not here, not now. She was right: if he really wanted to know, it was something he had to ask on their own time.

Ultear rolled her eyes, walking through the usual post-school hallway traffic. "Lyon, I highly doubt that any of that is true." she told him, scoffing.

"But it is!" Lyon protested, trailing after her. "I'm telling you, Jellal took me in his car and threatened my life! And it was for a good reason, but…" He frowned, seeing Ultear struggle not to laugh. "I'm pretty sure I could have died!"

"Yeah right. I'm sure Jellal didn't do that. You're salty that you had to wash everyone's dishes."

"But he did! Jeez, it's like no one here cares for my well-being…" he mumbled.

"That's because you're not talking to the right person. Have you told Meredy yet?"

"Hell no! She would laugh and talk about 'how nice Jellal is' and would not know that that is a lie!"

"You guys are hanging out right now, right?" Lyon nodded. "Well, if what you're saying is true, you better find Meredy now. If Jellal finds out you made her wait too long after school…" She inhaled sharply. "You might wish you left eighth hour early to meet up with her."

Lyon widened his eyes. "Oh, fuck. Where's her locker?"

"Down there, turn left, fifth on the right." Ultear pointed down the hall. "I- hey!" she exclaimed as Lyon grabbed her arm, pulling her down the hall with him. "Lyon, I need to leave!"

"I don't care!" he told her, dragging her with him. "If Jellal shows up and you're with me, he'll leave me alone."

Ultear held in a laugh. She already knew how paranoid Lyon was going to be: maybe telling him that wasn't such a good idea. "I was kidding, stupid. He won't be down there, we're meeting at his car."

"I don't care. You're coming with me either way, mainly because I already forgot where you said Meredy's locker was- "

"-It's right here!" Ultear interrupted. They stopped in front of the locker, seeing that they were the only ones there.

Lyon turned to her, giving her a sheepish expression. "Right, I knew that." he chuckled.

Ultear rolled her eyes. "Anyway, as I was saying, I have to meet Jellal, so I'll be going now." She turned to leave.

"Where are you going? He's right there!" Lyon told her, pointing past her.

She followed his finger, seeing that Jellal was, in fact, at the end of the hallway. He was walking, before turning the corner and going down a staircase. "Oh." Ultear remarked, slightly surprised. Why would he be over there? We parked on the other side of school today… "Well, I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah, see ya. And talk to him, will you? Put in a good word for me!"

"Yeah right." Ultear laughed, and walked in the direction Jellal went. Maybe he forgot something in 8th hour...she thought. She walked down the staircase, stepping into the hall. Jellal was in the middle of the hallway, turned away from her. He was talking to someone in front of him. Ultear almost called him, when she suddenly stopped, seeing who he was talking to.

She frowned, watching as Erza and Jellal continued talking, laughing casually. Why would he be with her? It suddenly dawned on her that while she and Jellal talked about their feelings, they didn't talk about her...She shook her head. It's nothing. she assured herself. She mustered up a smile, stepping forward. "Jellal!" she called.

Jellal spun around, and her expression faltered- it was obvious that he was surprised she was there. She frowned, strange sense of deja vu waving over her. But then he smiled, giving Ultear a small wave. He put a hand on Erza's arm, saying something to her. She nodded, and walked down the other stairway, out of sight. He turned back around, smiling as he walked towards Ultear. "Hey." he greeted.

"I thought we were meeting outside?" Ultear said as he reached her.

"Yeah, I was just on my way, but I ran into Erza." he explained as they walked out the doors.

"And? What was that about?"

"Just talking." He looked up at the sky above them. "Our relationship ended on a bad note, so...we talked. To...make sure things were fine."

She looked up at him cautiously, worried she would see something that would confirm the same suspicion she always had with him: that he was again, not over Erza. But his expression remained the same. She almost sighed in relief: nothing to worry about. "That's oddly mature of you." she joked, wrapping her arm around his.

"What can I say, you might be worth losing my immature ways." he laughed as they walked down the sidewalk, interlacing his hand in hers.

Hibiki approached his car, whistling as he twirled his keys around his finger. He was having an oddly good day so far. He looked up at the shining sun, smiling. He turned to the driver's seat side, ready to go home, when he suddenly stopped: leaning against the door was Cana, arms crossed.

He smirked, walking towards her. "Excuse me, beautiful, but you're in front of my door."

Cana, on the other hand, wasn't in such a good mood. "Yeah? Too bad. Your cheap ass 'moves' won't work on me, like those other girls."

Hibiki chuckled. "Okay, I know you're mad at me, but I really do have to get home- "

"You either give me the keys or stay here and listen." she told him, oddly serious.

He raised his eyebrows. "Ookay, I'll listen." he agreed, crossing his arms.

"Good, I'm glad." She pointed at him. "So, who drugged you so much that you started acting like a completely different person?"

He almost laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." He gave her a blank shrug. "The girls!"

"Oh."

"'Oh?' That's all? Well, I'll give you a little more than 'oh,' Hibiki Lates." Cana stepped towards him. "You think that the minute you and I end things you can go out with whatever floozy girl- "

"But you went out with that guy- "

"You're listening, right?" she glared. "I've seen you out with a bunch of different girls, and I…" she paused.

Hibiki raised his eyebrows, leaning towards her. "Hold up. Are you...jealous?"

Cana looked up at him, cheeks red. "What?! Am not!"

"Holy shit, you are!" He laughed lightly. "The great Cana Alberona was jealous of some girls!" he teased.

"Okay, maybe I am, but…" She crossed her arms tightly. "You're different. And I don't like it."

"Cana, I'm exactly the same. I used to go out with different girls all the time. Until I met you, that is."

She laughed this time, shaking her head. "That's quite an honor."

"So? What are we gonna do about this?"

"Yknow, I used to be too proud to admit things like this. But you changed me too." She paused, looking up at him. "So, I want to be with you." she told him, her voice as strong as she felt. "Really."

"I was hoping you'd say that." he smiled, pulling her closer. "Because I'd really like that too."

u g h sometimes editing on this website is hard because I forget things don't automatically save like google docs. but it's all good, because I'm excited for GRAYZA WEEK ahhhhh. And yes, I will be updating this story while posting my Grayza Week submissions! Be on the lookout for both ;) Much love

-Pinky