Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. I do own the idea for this story, or small set of short stories.

Slices.

(By Reighart the 5th.)

Rogue

'Is not really different from any other day.' Was the initial thought he had after the professor finished the class and left everybody free to continue with the rest of their daily routines. Nothing new, nothing relevant, nothing eye-catching. 'Dull as any other day...'

His thoughts were correct.

'I'll go to the cafeteria and find the others.' And that he did, saving his papers inside the brown pouch he bought and the pen in his hand went to his pockets. Slightly lazy in his movements, he left the big classroom, which almost resembled an auditorium, and entered the wide and long halls of the university he was attending, followed closely by several other students. Each with their own thoughts in mind and sharing them with their classmates.

Not him.

He didn't know a single person inside that room.

'Thirty minutes before the next class starts…' And it was five minutes, several halls and some sets of stairs which separated him from the cafeteria and the rest of his group. To those he would be more willing to talk to or just spend some time in quietness. His, at least, since he could not match his best friend's talking and thinking speed.

"I told him it had something to do with me being on and off from the chat but he didn't hear me."

"Pretty sure you did it on purpose."

"I didn't, dammit! I had internet problems…"

"…sure."

'Babbling as always.' He had to smile at the voices of his friends, the other people he knew in the campus. If it weren't for them, he would've been called a creeper or loner long ago. He didn't care for gossip or rumors, but it certainly helped him to not be bothered by them. Made things easier since he didn't want any kind of special attention. 'The quieter, the better.'

"Oh, Rogue." His head perked up at the mention of his name, seeing a blond man grinning and waving at him to come to where he was. The table was not really big or anything fancy but it was being used by five people at the moment. One of them the blond man. "Get your ass here, man! You're missing the fun!"

"I still call bullshit." Another blond spoke up to the argument of before, getting some food in his mouth and munching it quietly before speaking again. "You said she was annoying the other day."

"That means you did it on purpose, see?" A man of green, long hair, added. He was sitting to the left of the blond man with his arms folded over his chest and a calm façade on his face. "Cut to the chase and tell us why."

The one being questioned by the others, a younger man of dark blue hair, grumbled a few insults under his breath and brought a palm to the table, slightly making the trays and the things over them jump at the force. "Okay! Dammit! I did say she was annoying but it wasn't anything like -"

"How're things, man? Anything new?" The blond man that called Rogue to the table asked once his friend took a seat next to him, forgetting about the main conversation and focusing on his friend with a small friendly smile. "You told me you had a long lecture today, right? How'd it go?"

"It was dull, a bit boring at some points… but informative nonetheless." Rogue informed quickly, narrowing his eyes at the other guys in the table that was were starting to raise their voices and attract some looks from the neighboring ones. "It'll be added to the mid-term exam as the rest."

"Damn… and you said you had a lot to read the other day…" The blond man cringed a little at the thought of having so many tons of paper to read and study but shrugged it aside to concentrate on the conversation. They had a few more minutes before the next lecture and since they had different things to do after they were all over, this was the only time of the day they could talk. Aside the time when they are arriving to the campus. "And you? How're you feeling?"

"Yeah, you said something about going home for a few days next week." The fifth guy sharing the table with them finally spoke up and it was to join the conversation of the two friends. He had orange hair, spiky at the ends, and wore sunglasses inside the large hall.

Rogue paid him a silent, scrutinizing look and shook his head. "I'm fine, I only need to pass the mid-term exams and I'll go to my hometown for a few weeks."

"Yeah, we know, but why?" The blond man questioned again, this time a little more pushy in his need to know. He was worried, that much the dark-haired man could tell.

"Personal issues." He said in answer, not wanting to speak any further about it. He could understand their worry and everything else they were feeling, but he seriously didn't want to speak about it. Not now, at least. He looked at the clock hanging in the middle of the cafeteria and nodded to himself, standing up and looking at all the guys sharing the table with him. "I must go, the next lecture is soon and the classroom is at the other side of the campus."

"Uh… sure, good luck."

"Damn, already?"

"Wait… it's still early."

"Hey, he has things to do… probably."

"…right."

"Laxus, Gray, Freed, Leo…" Rogue called each one as he nodded and bid his odd farewell, later looking at the blond man that was worrying for him with a softened expression. "We can talk about it after class, Sting."

"…you better not be lying, bro." Sting warned once he heard the words, giving a determined nod to his friend and letting him leave the table to assist the next class. He watched him leave with his expression turning into both annoyance and wonder, not really knowing what his friend could be hiding but really curious to find out. 'You better not be lying…'

Continuara~

I know it is short and more serious than Unravel, sorry about that. I have a really good plan with this story and part of it involves the shortness of the chapters. Don't worry though, there's a point for it, and everything will be answered as the story progresses. All you need to do is have patience with me and forgive the slight jumping from character to character. That's right. This chapter was Rogue's but the next one won't be. It is by random picking so that means that not even I have control of what will happen. Bear with me this semi-long trek I came up with. Please.

I hope you enjoyed it somehow.

Adieu.