We All Have a Story to Tell

Chapter 8

I'd like to know...

It had been the first week of December. There were only two weeks left before Winter break. However, I hadn't been excited for Christmas. It wasn't going to be the same. Not without my mother there and my father wasn't going to make the effort to make things better. He never had anyways, so I hadn't been surprised. But still, it hurt.

He had told me he had to go out of town the week of Christmas. Great. Not only was mother not going to be there, but I was going to spend Christmas all by myself.

Sighing, I turned the corner and made my way down the hall and towards my locker. Dropping the books I would need after the lunch break in my hand bag, I closed my locker. Looking up, my eyes widened when I saw Gray walking past me, down the hall and towards the back of the school.

"Gray?" I called, but he didn't look up. He either didn't hear me or he completely ignored me. He had a hard look on his face, one I hadn't seen on him in a long time.

Without thinking, I started following him. I didn't understand why, but I just did. Somehow, I knew something was going on, and I wanted to find out what.

I raised an eyebrow as I watched him walk towards the back exit of the school. Biting my bottom lip, I glanced behind me, making sure no one had noticed either of us, and proceeded to slip out the back door.

Gray had stalked towards the small array of trees across the parking lot. I furrowed my eyebrows as I watched him meet two guys I had never seen before. And then, a particular sent caught my attention. My nose scrunched up in disgust. What was that?

One of the two guys before Gray was holding a joint in between two fingers, making my eyes widen in realization. I watched Gray in disbelief. He was buying drugs?

My mouth fell open when one of the guys handed Gray a bag filled with marijuana, and then proceeded to hand him a lighter and a joint. My hands covered my mouth as I hid behind a tree, my eyes wide in shock.

I was about to turn around and leave, my hands curling up in frustration and anger at Gray's actions, when I felt a hand fall on my shoulder. My eyes widened and I looked up. Bloodshot and unfocused eyes met mine. I shuddered when the guy grinned down at me, his eyes taking me in, and then he bit his lips as he checked out my exposed legs.

I pushed away from him, pulling down my dark blue skirt, my cheeks flushing. I was shaking. Would he try anything? I didn't know. I glanced in Gray's direction- who was completely oblivious about what was happening to me- all too ready to call his name.

"You're pretty cute." The guy muttered then as he took a step toward me and I took a step back.

"I should be getting back. Class is about to start." I whispered, trying to escape but he took hold of my arm before I could even take a step away.

My stomach twisted into knots as I looked back at him, my eyes wide in fear. "Why are you running away? It's not every day that a pretty girl like you comes around here." He smirked, pulling me towards him, pressing his body flush against mine. I was breathing hard then, my heart hammering in my chest.

"Please…" I whispered, my eyes glancing behind him, watching Gray as he continued talking to the two guys before him. "Just let me go, please." I pleaded as steadily as I could, but my shaky voice betrayed me. I squirmed when he smiled down at me, his hand coming up to caress my cheek and my eyes widened in repulsion and fear.

And then I screamed his name, tears blinding me. "Gray!"

The guy before me raised an eyebrow and then I felt someone pull me away from the guy's hold and push me back. I blinked my eyes, my tears rolling down my cheeks. Gray was standing in front of me breathing hard.

"What the fuck were you doing to her?!" He yelled, his eyes blazing in anger.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my legs shaking as the guy smirked my way and then lazily turned back to Gray. "I just wanted to have a good time with her, man. Chill down."

And just as the boy had spilled those words, Gray swung a fist to his face. The boy grunted, stumbling back a little as he yelled, "What the fuck, man?!"

"Don't ever get close to Lucy again!" The venom in Gray's voice even surprised me, and I bit my bottom lip, my eyes lowering to the ground. None of this would have happened if I hadn't been so noisy, if I hadn't followed Gray…

The guy chuckled, his head tilting to where Gray had been minutes before. "Cool it man. It was nothing serious. I didn't know she was your girl."

Gray's face had grown red, and though I had first thought it was from embarrassment, I then realized it was from anger.

"Just get the fuck out of here." He muttered and the guy rolled his eyes and nodded, walking over to the same spot Gray had been at before. Just as he passed by me, he winked and I shivered, my arms tightening around me. He chuckled and finally left Gray and I alone.

Gray sighed, glancing back at me his eyes finally warmed. "Luce… Are you alright?"

I was looking down, feeling very embarrassed by everything that had just happened. I only nodded, not meeting his eyes.

I heard him walk up to me, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. "Come on; look at me." I slowly glanced up at him and as soon as my brown eyes locked on his, I looked down again. It had been very embarrassing.

Gray sighed again. And then he asked the one thing I had been fearing he would. "What are you even doing here?"

My hands curled up into fists as I muttered the truth, not being able to lie to him. "I followed you." I glanced up at him, watching his eyebrows furrow. "I saw you in the hallway and followed you here." I bit my bottom lip before I whispered, "I saw you buying drugs."

His eyes widened then and he took a step away from me. He cleared his throat, shoving his hands inside his pants' front pockets. "Yeah, so?"

My eyes widened. I stared at him in disbelief. He sounded so nonchalant… How could he be so carefree about this? How could he not even be a little ashamed? After all, what he was doing was slowly killing him… How could he be doing that to himself? How could he not care? When there were so many people fighting for their lives everyday, here he was throwing his away.

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. "You shouldn't do that…" I whispered. "It's bad for you."

His eyes hardened, and he stared down at the ground. "Whatever I do is none of your business."

My eyes widened as I watched him. Not my… business… That had stabbed. It hurt. Because it was true. I wasn't really his girlfriend. It was none of my business. My hands clenched into fists and my nails digged into the flesh of my palms.

"I know." I whispered, my eyes moving to stare at the floor. "But I still care. Though I shouldn't." My voice broke, my tears blinding me. Gray frowned. "I care about you, you idiot! And I don't want anything to happen to you! So please, don't do stupid things like that!" Tears slid down my cheeks as I watched Gray's eyes widen.

I then turned around and ran away, pushing the double doors leading into the school hallway as I heard Gray call after me, "Luce! Wait!"

I didn't stop. I continued running. My trembling hands rubbed the tears from my cheeks. A couple of people glanced my way as I passed by them in the halls. I didn't mind them, I continued on, not carrying when the bell rung- signifying the start of our next class. I continued running, until finally, I reached the library.

Making my way towards the adventure section of the library, I leaned my back on the shelves, sliding down to the floor. Crossing my arms over my knees, I layed my head over them, blinking my tears away. I was really stupid. Letting my feelings get the best of me. I shouldn't have cared. I shouldn't have gotten into his business. But… I just couldn't let him throw his life away.

That's when I heard someone sit beside me. Our shoulders brushed as he sat down beside me. My eyes widened and I glanced up and saw Gray sitting beside me, his eyes closed as he leaned his head on the shelf behind us.

"Sorry for being such a jerk." He whispered with his eyes still closed and I frowned and shrugged. "It's fine." I whispered.

He then opened his eyes and our eyes locked. "No, it's not."

I blinked up at him and he sighed. "I'm just not used to someone caring…" He stopped himself and sighed again as he closed his eyes. I bit my bottom lip and scooted closer to him.

"I care about you, Gray. A lot. That's why I don't want you doing drugs." My eyes lowered. "There's so many possible side effects to such reckless behavior. Such things have the potential to cause permanent brain damage and even death." My voice broke with that last sentence. I really couldn't lose someone dear to me. Not again. Just thinking about losing Gray, made me dizzy and nauseous.

I looked up, cheeks flushed a dark red as I met Gray's blank gaze. My heart was thumping madly in my chest as his deep blue eyes locked on mine. And then, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. I blinked up at him.

"What?" I asked, but he didn't answer, his smile only widened and he shook his head. I narrowed my eyes at him and pouted as I looked to the side. "This is serious, Gray!"

"I know." Gray finally said, though the smile on his face stayed put.

I stared at him with raised eyebrows and then I grumbled. "Well, it sure doesn't seem like it. Because this is really serious, Gray. And you seem to just brush it off as if it's not an issue of importance." I narrowed my eyes then. "Which it is."

Gray shook his head, looking down for a second before he looked back at me. "I know, I know, Luce. It's just… no one's ever really cared enough to ask me to stop before. You're the first, Luce." He chuckled, grinning as he stared at me. "It made me happy." His hands then framed my face and he lowered his face to mine, resting his forehead on mine. "Thank you."

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes and I reached for one of his hands on my face, linking out fingers tightly. I sniffed then, feeling a knot form on my throat. How could have no one ever cared…? My hand gripped his and I closed my eyes as I whispered, "I'm happy that you're happy."

He chuckled and I joined in after a few seconds.

We didn't go to class that day, instead we stayed in the library, talking and laughing, our hands linked the entire time.

And when the bell indicating the start of our lunch break rung, Gray helped me stand up.

Before he could pull me out of the library, I stopped, my hand tightening around his. "Promise me something." I whispered and he raised an eyebrow.

"Promise me that you'll try to stop doing drugs." I had been blushing at my words, looking down before I felt his fingers on my chin, moving my head up to look at him.

He smiled, bending down to take my lips in his. The kiss was short but had been enough to make my knees weak. When the kiss ended, he whispered against my lips, "I promise, Luce."

I grinned, my cheeks flushed as I reached for his lips again, standing on my tiptoes to lock my lips with his. He had chuckled into the kiss and my cheeks felt like they'd light on fire, but I didn't care, I had been too happy to over think my actions.

As we walked towards the dining hall, I finally questioned, "How did you know where I'd go to?"

He smirked down at me and I furrowed my eyebrows. "It was pretty easy, actually. You love going to the library. So I guessed you'd go there instead of to class. You'd been crying after all." He frowned at that and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He smiled down at me. "And adventure books are your favorite, right?" My cheeks dusted a light pink color as I nodded and he grinned. "So that's how I knew I'd find you there."

We soon reached the table we usually sat at, and noticed Cana, Levy and Gajeel sitting there already. I sat down beside Cana as Gray left to get us something for lunch, spotting Loke and Romeo on the line and heading their way. He kissed the top of my head before he left, whispering that he'd be back and I blushed a dark red when Cana wiggled her eyebrows at me and Levy squealed. Gray only chuckled and then finally, walked off towards his bandmates and friends.

After squealing some more after Gray had walked off, Levy asked me how we were doing and after I had simply answered that we were find, Levy pouted and then glanced over to Gajeel, who was nonchalantly eating some chips. She then sighed and said she'd call me later so I could spill all the "juicy" details. I rolled my eyes and Cana laughed.

Levy then stood up to get something to drink, offering to bring us all something as well.

When Levy was finally out of earshot, Gajeel dropped his bag of chips and grinned over at me, making my eyebrows furrow. "W-what?" I stuttered and Gajeel's grin widened.

"You know, that fucker is head over heels in love with you." My eyes widened, and if I had been drinking something, I'd surely spit it out right on his face.

Gajeel laughed loudly at my reaction, my mouth opening and closing as I tried to say something, so I only ended up repeating my previous question, "W-what?!"

Cana shook her head, smirking as Gajeel crossed his arms over the table and nodded. "Yep, he's madly in love, even if he hasn't realized it himself. He's kinda thick headed, ya know?" He seemed to be very amused by my reddening face. My heart had felt like it'd jump out of my chest any second. "Though at first I hadn't accepted your relationship cause I knew he still had feelings for Juvia and I kinda felt like he was using you, I now realized that he's serious. And that's something new. 'Cause Fullbuster has never been serious."

I frowned. Gajeel had been right, he had been using me in a way to get Juvia- still was. I sighed and looked down. With that though clouding my mind, I tried to disregard his other thoughts on Gray's 'feelings' for me. But it had been hard to do so.

Cana nodded at Gajeel's words, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and making my wide eyes meet her grinning face. "He's different when he's around you, Lucy. We all don't really know what it is. But… he's calmer and he talks more. We had to force him to talk before. Now, all he talks about is you. Isn't that awesome?" She smirked down at me and my mouth dropped open.

"It's not because of me…" I tried mumbling but Cana rolled her eyes. "Of course it is!"

Gajeel emptied his bag of chips into his mouth, munching on them loudly as he watched us. He then grinned, "Gray has never been this chatty about a girl before, not even about Juvia. So it's pretty fucking obvious he's crazy about you, bunny girl."

I was biting down on my lip painfully, my hands shaking as I curled them over my skirt. But before any of us could say anything else, Levy and Yukino joined us. And with that, Gajeel and Cana dropped our previous conversation.

But I couldn't stop thinking about it. Could it be? Could he be feeling the same thing I felt for him? I hadn't know.

I smiled as I stared down at the table. Maybe… maybe there was a possibility that he was. And suddenly, I had a new sense of hope.

It was that Friday that Gray's had a concert at Fairy Tail. Yukino, Cana, Levy and I had all been standing front row enjoying their music when Loke announced, "This next song is a new one! It's actually written by our lead singer, Gray!"

My eyes watched as he grinned, the crowd around me erupting in cheers as the boys started to play their new song.

Gray's eyes locked on mine for a second before he closed them and began to sing. And my heart seemed to stop as soon as he did.

I come over

Quarter past two

Love in my eyes

Blinded by you

Just to get a taste of heaven

I'm on my knees

My wide eyes watched as he held onto his mic, eyes still closed as he sang. I stood frozen in my spot before him. Levy sang along to the lyrics, screaming to me with a big grin that she loved the song. I forced myself to smile back, nodding. It was a good song, and I had liked it. But… it was about her.

I can't help it

I'm addicted

But I can't stand the pain inflicted

In the morning, you're not holding on to me

Yukino reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze. I frowned a little as my eyes locked with hers and her eyes lowered, frowning as well. I bit my bottom lip as I looked back up at Gray and then, he finally opened his eyes. Deep blue eyes searched the crowd, but they hadn't been looking for me. They stopped once they found a certain blue haired girl that had been standing a few rows behind me. I looked back, my frown deepening when I saw Juvia standing there by herself.

Tell me what's the point of doing this every night

What you're giving me is nothing but a heartless lullaby

Gonna kill my dreams, oh

This is the last time

Baby make up your mind

Cana sighed beside me, and I glanced at her, noticing that she too, had been staring back at Juvia. "She just doesn't know when to quit it." She muttered and I pursed my lips as I watched Juvia rub her cheeks.

'Cause I can't keep sleeping in your bed if you keep messing with my head

Before I slip under your sheets

Can you give me something, please?

I can't keep touching you like this

If it's just temporary bliss

Just temporary bliss

I stared at Gray then, his eyes closing again as he continued the song. I smiled then. The song was good, and though the meaning behind the lyrics stung a little, I had enjoyed it. Because his voice was that great. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. Standing there, doing what he loved, was something I very much enjoyed watching.

Gajeel and Loke would join him as he sang; Gajeel's beats would grow louder then and now as he pushed the tempo a bit. Romeo and Loke joining in as well as Romeo joined in the chorus of the song, with Loke and Gajeel backing them up in certain parts.

Even from a distance, I could see the emotion in Gray's deep blue eyes. He'd open them every now and then, and when he did, my breath caught in my throat and I lost the ability to move. His eyes locked on mine just before the song ended, and he didn't look away after that. I felt my arms and legs shake. He smiled then, just before he sang the last note of the song he had written for Juvia, and his deep blue eyes shined in the spotlight, making my heart skip a beat.

My chest tightened as I watched him and it became even more difficult to breath. And at that moment, I hadn't known whether I wanted to laugh or cry. Laugh because he was staring only at me and it was making me extremely happy or cry because he was singing a song to another girl- a girl who he loved. And that girl was most definitely not me.

Everything had been soft and warm and loud and very scary and absolutely wonderful at the same time and the only thing I had known at the moment was that it was all because of him. It was all because of Gray. He was making me feel all these different emotions, things I had never felt before for anyone else.

And so, when he finally sang the last note of his song, I grinned up at him and his grin widened, winking down at me. My knees shook then and my hands trembled as they came up to cover my silly grin.

I can't keep sleeping in your bed

If you keep messing with my head

I can't keep feeling love like this

It's not worth temporary bliss

The song ended and the crowd was only silent for a second before they exploded into a joyous roar of cheers and applause. Loke threw his guitar around his back and winked down at a few girls that were screaming his name, Gajeel rolling his eyes at the womanizer while Romeo laughed as he watched Loke hand the girls a card with his number on it.

Gray's eyes had been focused on me and only me even after the song had ended. I gulped. Why was he looking at me? I hadn't known, but his carefree smile had been making it hard for me not to smile back.

"Can we hear it again for Gray's new song?!" Loke had yelled into his microphone, prompting the crowd to erupt in cheers again. Gray finally broke his gaze from mine as he turned over to a grinning Loke and playfully shoved him away, chuckling as he did.

"Thanks everybody!" Gray smiled down as the crowd started cheering again, and he tried to quiet them down the best he could. "Thanks so much for coming out tonight!"

Loke then spoke up again, yelling into his mic, "Please remember that all gifts of adoration including flowers, chocolates, and phone numbers should be thrown in my direction! Gray and the piercing freak are both taken and Romeo is too young for some of you!" He winked and a chorus of female voices cheered while another made their displeasure known.

I glanced down as soon as Loke had said that, watching Levy blush a deep red. I grinned. "He's taken, huh?"

She blushed a deep red, stuttering, "H-how should I know?!"

I laughed. "Oh come on, Levy-chan! We both know he has a huge crush on you!"

She frowned and looked down as she whispered, "I really don't know. That hard headed idiot is too stubborn to admit it!" She glared up at the stage, where Gajeel was yelling at Loke for saying too much, like always. "If he does, I'll never know!"

Cana snorted. "Yeah, if I was you, I'd sit down. That idiot is gonna take a while. He's real stubborn."

Levy sighed loudly and crossed her thin arms over her chest, frowning down at the floor. I gave her a sympathetic smile while Yukino slinged an arm around her and invited her a drink, dragging her towards the bar counter as Levy huffed and yelled that Gajeel was a big idiot, making plenty of people turn around and stare at her. I laughed as I watched her. She really liked him. I shook my head. Opposites really did attract.

The lights soon came back on as the guys disappeared through a door behind the drum set, well three of the guys did. Gray stayed on the stage, looking over the room. At first I had thought he'd been looking for Juvia, but then his eyes met mine. He jumped down from the stage and made a beeline towards me through the dispersing crowd.

I was shaking all while he did that. Cana laughed beside me, yelling as she walked off after Yukino and Levy, "I'll give you two love birds some alone time!" She winked and I blushed a deep red.

Gray had reached me soon after, grabbing my face between his hands before I could even utter a word, and attacking me with his lips, causing me to take a step back. He was hot, sweaty, and tasted like beer, but I had loved every second of it. His hand slid down my body, an arm closing around my waist and he pulled me forcefully to him, eliminating the air between us.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine, trying to catch his breath as his eyes locked on mine. "Hey." He whispered and I smiled, my arms wrapping around his neck. "Hi." I whispered back.

Gray had opened his mouth then, as if he was about to tell me something, but then he quickly closed it. His eyes left mine and I raised an eyebrow as I watched his eyes follow something- or more precisely- someone behind me. I looked back, following his gaze until finally I saw her. Juvia was walking towards the back room. She stopped then, glancing back over her shoulders. Her eyes locked on Gray's and then she moved her gaze to me. She bit her bottom lip, her eyes red as she looked down and turned back around, continuing on her way.

Pulling away from me, Gray looked down. He frowned as he whispered, "I'll be right back. I need to do something."

My heart fell as I dropped my arms from around his neck. "Gray…" I whispered, my throat suddenly dry.

He gave me a forced smile, "Don't worry, Luce. I just… I need to do this." I frowned and he tucked a stray hair behind my ear and then leaned down to kiss my forehead, his lips lingering there for a few seconds. "Wait for me by the bar counter. I'll only be gone a few minutes."

I watched him walk off towards the back room, where I was sure Juvia was waiting for him. I bit my bottom lip as I glanced towards the bar counter, where my friends were all at. I then glanced towards the back room. Curiosity had gotten the best of me that night. It had just been too strong. I needed to know what they would be talking about. Or what they'd be doing.

My chest hurt just thinking that maybe Juvia would tell Gray that she wanted him. That she finally wanted him and only him. Gray probably would be ecstatic. But me… I don't think I could handle ever seeing him with someone else. I couldn't picture him kissing another girl like he kissed me. I wanted him. I wanted him and wanted him to want me, too. And just me.

I tiptoed down the hallway that lead towards the back room. Gray and Juvia had been nowhere in sight by then. For a second, I had began to chide myself for being stupid enough to follow them. Whatever was going on in that room would surely hurt me. It had been painful just imagining what could happen between them in there. But I couldn't convince myself to turn around and go to the bar counter. My mind told me they must be getting together, that she must be telling him that she loved him back and I knew I'd never be able to focus on anything else if I didn't know for sure.

The door to the backroom had been ajar and I pressed my back to the wall. I couldn't see either of them without poking my head inside but their voices drifted out through the crack.

"You made your choice, remember? Lyon. We ended… this." Gray was saying. "You had no feelings for me. Back then, when I fucking spilled all my feelings for you, you rejected me, saying that our relationship wasn't like that… You didn't want to be with me, but now you don't want anyone else to be with me either, right?" He paused then and my eyes widened at his words. "What do you want, Juvia? Do you want me to be alone forever? Is that what you want?" His voice broke then and I swallowed. He was angry, very angry.

Juvia sighed, frustrated. "That's not… That's not it." She whispered. "I just… I feel like you're using Lucy to get back at me." She stopped then and so had my heart. I took in a shaky breath, my lips trembling. He had. That's exactly what he had been doing. "I don't know… I may be wrong. But… I just have this feeling that you're trying to hurt me, like I hurt you. All those songs you've been writing about me, they've been proof enough."

Gray snorted. They stayed quiet for a few seconds before Juvia questioned, "Are you trying to get back at me? Is that why you're with Lucy?"

I held my breath as I heard him say, "No." My hands curled up by my sides at his answer. He was lying, I kept repeating that to myself in my head. But… a part of me stayed hopeful. Maybe, just maybe, he hadn't been lying.

"You're not trying to purposely hurt me?" Juvia questioned again, as if not believing his previous answer.

"No." Gray answered once again.

Juvia sighed in frustration. "I don't believe you. I don't get why you're dating Lucy, and for this long, if it's not to get back at me!"

Gray groaned. "Not everything is about you, Juvia!"

"You never showed interest in Lucy before! So why should I believe that all of a sudden you have feelings for her and you're finally in a committed relationship?! With her of all people!" Juvia yelled.

"What does it matter to you? Me being with her is none of your business. Who I fall for or who I'm with is none of your concern, remember? You didn't want me. You chose him. So what do you care if I'm with Lucy?"

"Because you're mine!" Juvia suddenly yelled and my eyes widened, my hands covering my mouth.

The silence after that was deafening.

And then, finally, Gray yelled back, "No, I'm not! Juvia, you chose Lyon! He's fucking yours, not me! You've made that fucking clear more than once!"

"Is that why you're with Lucy?! To prove that to me? To prove that you're not mine?!" Juvia's voice cracked in anger.

Gray sighed then. "No… Maybe it was like that at the beginning, but not anymore." He stopped, taking a deep breath before he whispered, "I'm not yours, Juvia. Not anymore."

My chest tightened and it had become difficult to breathe.

"W-what?" Juvia's voice cracked and I could tell she was in the brink of tears.

Chuckling, Gray answered, "Yeah. I used to think it'd always be you. Just you. That I wouldn't be able to want someone as much as I wanted you. That I wouldn't be able to care for another girl as much as I care about you. But… then she came along. And she's changed everything. And I can't stop thinking about her. I'm crazy about Lucy."

My knees were shaking and my hands still covering my mouth began to shake. I slid down to the floor, my eyes wide in shock. He was… crazy about me? My heart was beating very loudly in my chest, and my ears were thumping in both excitement and terror. Tears slid down my cheeks, had he really just said that? My hands curled up into fists and slide down to my sides, and I bit down on my lower lip. I really hoped I hadn't imagined that. Grinning up at the ceiling, I took in a deep breath trying to contain my giggles. I had been the happiest girl in that very moment.

"Do you love her?" Juvia shaking voice took me out of my reverie and I held my breath as I awaited Gray's answer.

"I don't know." Gray answered and my heart thumped loudly in my chest, my cheeks flushing at his next words, "I like her. I don't know about love, but I definitely like her. A lot."

"Do you care about her more than you care about me?" Juvia had suddenly questioned and I frowned as I stared down at my lap. I had feared his answer. Because, deep down I knew he still didn't care about me as much as he cared about her.

Gray laughed. "You would ask that." He then muttered, "I love you, Juvia. But you're not mine and you'll never be."

"I love you too, Gray." Juvia sniffed, probably trying to contain her tears. "I'm yours Gray." My hands shook by my sides at her words and I sucked in a nervous breath. That's what Gray had wanted from the beginning. This is why we had pretended to date. This is what he wanted. And he now had it. He had her. She loved him. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I was about to stand up and leave but Gray's voice stopped me.

Sighing in frustration, Gray said, "You need to stop lying to yourself, Juvia." He stopped and then whispered. "And to me."

"You should be with Lyon." Gray told her and Juvia made a sound of protest but he stopped her, asking, "You love him, right?"

They both fell silent after that, until Juvia whispered, "Yes."

Gray sighed, whispering, "Then there's your answer. Let's finally end this, Juvia. For Lyon."

"Gray…" Juvia whispered but he didn't answer. That's when I heard footsteps approaching the door and I saw his hand clutch the knob. My eyes widened in fright and I scrambled to get on my feet as quickly and as quietly as I could, beginning to escape down the hall.

I ran as fast as I could down the hall, glancing back to make sure Gray hadn't caught me. Just as I had been turning back around, I crashed into someone. Strong arms snapped around my waist before I hit the floor, and my eyes glanced up in surprise.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologized, finally looking up to see who I'd crashed into. I blinked when I found a very familiar face staring down at me. It took me a few seconds to remember exactly how I knew this guy. My eyes widened in realization once I remembered meeting him at one of Gray's concerts. He was the guy I had spilled his beer on him. I flushed at the memory.

Hibiki grinned down at me and said, "Is this going to be the way we'll always greet each other?" He mocked and I looked down in embarrassment. I shook my head, and whispered, "I really hope not." He chuckled while he steadied me.

I blushed a little as I glanced up at him and said, "Sorry about bumping into you like that."

The older boy waved my apology and instead asked, "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" I raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. It hadn't been that long since we had first met. "How'd you been?"

Remembering Gray's words from before, I smiled down at the floor and whispered, "Pretty great, actually."

Hibiki raised an eyebrow but didn't ask for an elaboration, he only smiled down at me. Before he could ask anything else, however, an arm wrapped protectively around me. I looked up in surprise, my eyes locking with Gray's deep blue eyes.

"Who's this, Luce?" He asked, his eyes leaving mine to stare at Hibiki.

I smiled a little when I saw Gray give Hibiki a hard look. Was he jealous? I almost rolled my eyes. Probably not, but I still felt butterflies in my stomach as I watched him and finally answered, "This is Hibiki." I glanced at the older boy- who had been smiling- and continued, "I met him at one of your concerts a while back."

Hibiki nodded, saying, "That's right." He then caught my gaze and smirked. "You could say we're friends."

Gray raised an eyebrow as he stared at him, looking back down at me in question. I only nodded.

Watching us, Hibiki then cleared his throat, "I should be going now. Don't want my friends to kill me for making them wait. I'll see you around, Lucy?"

I smiled and nodded and he returned the smile before he turned and left us.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Gray watched Hibiki walk away and then looked down at me, grinning, "Let's get something to drink."

I bit my bottom lip as he grabbed my hand. But before he could pull me towards the bar counter I called, "Gray?"

He looked back at me over his shoulder, eyebrows cocked in question.

"Can we talk?" His eyebrows furrowed and then I whispered, "Outside?"

Gray stared at me for a few seconds, his eyes searching mine before he nodded.

I pulled him out the double doors, a couple of people trying to stop Gray on our way, but he waved them all away. I could feel my hands shake when the doors shut behind us, all the sounds coming from inside ceasing.

Dropping Gray's hand, I played with my blonde hair that was tied up in my usual side ponytail. I had been looking around the lot, focusing on anything except him. I had been nervous. Very nervous. Because I was about to do the one thing I had been fearing he'd do. I was about to end this. Because I liked him and he did too, apparently. And I didn't want to continue this farze. I wanted it to be real.

"Luce?" Gray finally whispered and I finally looked up at him.

My heart thudded against my chest. His eyes widened as soon as I whispered, "Do you really love Juvia?"

He eyed me for a few seconds before he swallowed and looked down. "Why are you asking me this?" He then sighed, shoving his hands in his pants' front pockets. "Where is this coming from, Luce?"

"Just answer the question Gray." I whispered, my eyes locking on his.

His eyes searching mine, he answered, "I did." My eyes widened and my heart hammered in my chest as I watched him shrug. "It's just… My feelings for her are not what they were a few months ago." His eyes locked on mine. "They've changed… I've changed."

My wide eyes searched his, my arms shaking as I crossed them over my chest and whispered, "Really?" When he only nodded, I then took a step closer to him, squeezing the strap of my hand bag for courage as I questioned, "Why her?" I sucked in a breath. "Why did you fall for her?"

His eyes widened and he rubbed the back of his neck at my question and I bit my bottom lip and looked away. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Y-you don't have to answer that! Sorry for asking!"

My breath caught when he smiled and shrugged as he looked up at the star filled night. When his gaze locked on mine again, he cocked his head to the side as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It was her and Lyon… their relationship. I had wanted something like that. I had felt so alone… I felt like I didn't have anyone who cared about me. So… when I saw them, I just wanted someone that loved me as much as Juvia loves Lyon."

He frowned. "I've always…" He sucked in a breath. "I've always felt alone, like I had no one that cared about me. When I was younger, I just kept to myself, trying to convince myself that I didn't need anybody. Music had seemed to be enough for me back then. My guitar… that had been my closest relationship." He chuckled and shook his head. "Kinda pathetic, huh?"

I shook my head, a knot forming on my throat as I walked up to him and squeezed his hand. "No…" I whispered, my right hand cupping his cheek as my brown eyes caught his. "It's not pathetic, not at all."

He shrugged. "I think it was." He muttered. "I closed myself to everyone that tried to get close to me. That's why, back in middle school- when Juvia had been all over me- I ignored her and pushed her away, repeatedly telling her that I didn't like her. Though, a part of me had fallen for her. But I still pushed her away and rejected her every time she confessed to me. I was lonely. I felt alone, because I was. I closed myself so much and pushed everyone away, I was causing my own misery." He shook his head. "Going out with so many girls was my way of finding the comfort and love I craved so much."

Grinning, he shook his head, reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I felt wanted. I felt like they cared." He sighed. "But none of them ever did. I was just some pretty face that they really wanted to get to bed. I was definitely not boyfriend material." He shrugged. "I mean, I had such a bad reputation… that I never blamed them." He looked away from me and I frowned. "Having that connection… I mean, just having someone there… it just made everything feel better. Like I wasn't as lonely. I don't know…"

He half-smiled sadly down to the floor. "My mother died when I was only nine and my father had left me, deciding he couldn't take care of me, not without her." His hands shook and I held tightly to them. "I just… I felt like I'd never be loved by anyone. My father had abandoned me and… I felt like anybody who I'd let into my life would also abandon me, just like he had."

My eyes watered and I whispered, "Gray…" He looked back at me with a sad smile and ran his thumb down my cheek. The pain in his eyes made my heart ache and not knowing what to say to make him feel better, I instead leaned in and kissed him. It was short but he had smiled into it, making my cheeks warm in color.

"With Juvia… It was more about her relationship with Lyon. I wanted what they had. Pretty messed up, huh?" I frowned and he sighed. "I wanted something real, not just some hookup. I wanted to know… I wanted to fall in love. And watching them everyday, it just made me want it more. And then, I realized I had started to care for Juvia. We were just friends then, but I cared about her. Then one day, I realized I had actually fallen for her."

His shoulders slumped. "I messed up. I fucking messed up. She was Lyon's girl. I couldn't ever do that to him. But I loved her. I knew it was wrong to love her, but I just couldn't help it. So when she came for comfort when he cheated, I just couldn't stop myself. I did the one thing I knew would make Lyon hate me forever. But… I still continued with our messed up relationship. Because… a part of me thought that she cared about me too."

Gray shrugged. "And that's all that mattered to me. Until she'd end up going back to him. She always chose him. Because she loved him. She didn't love me... I was just the guy she used when she and Lyon were fighting. She had just been using me… While I had actually fallen hard for her. I loved her and I was hurting. That's why I asked her to choose. And she chose Lyon. And that's when I got that messed up and very cruel idea. I thought that making her see me with some other girl in a serious relationship would make her jealous."

He grinned down at me and I looked down and frowned. "And it did. She claims to want me now… But even if it's true, I don't care anymore." He reached for my face and made me look up at him, smiling he whispered. "I don't care anymore because I now have you, Luce."

My eyes widened, my mouth falling open as I tried to come up with something to say. But I couldn't. I had just stayed quiet, mouth still wide open as I stared up at him. His expression softened as his eyes gazed into mine adoringly.

I closed my eyes as I felt the night air blow softly around us. My heart was beating loudly in my chest and I felt my arms and legs tremble. He liked me. I knew that much. He felt something for me, just as I had felt something for him.

Opening my eyes, I found Gray's deep blue eyes locked on me. I smiled, stroking his cheek I took a step closer to him, wanting to kiss him very badly, but I stopped myself. I swallowed roughly before I could speak. I was nervous. Very nervous. And I was about to do something I hadn't wanted to do.

"I'm sorry, Gray." I whispered, my eyes watered when I saw his eyebrows furrow in question. Had that been fear in his eyes? I swallowed again, looking down as my ears thumped and my cheeks flushed red. "I can't continue doing this, even though I promised I would."

A single tear rolled down my cheek. "I care about you, Gray. I care about you so much." I couldn't stop the tears then. I was sobbing. I was sobbing because of what he had just opened up to me about. Because I wanted to make him happy. Because I wanted to fall for him without worrying about getting hurt again. Because I wanted to be the girl he'd let fight alongside him all his past demons.

He wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I cried into his shoulder. "Luce?" He whispered into my ear, making me shiver in his arms.

"Let's end this farze, Gray." I muttered in between sniffs and cries. Gray's arms stiffened and he pulled back, his eyes wide. I looked down. "I'll help you in any other way I can. Just not like this."

"Why?" He cracked and I rubbed the tears from my cheeks, biting my lower lip as I contemplated telling him that I was falling for him, and I was scared. Scared of getting hurt again. Scared of losing him. Scared of these feelings.

And then the words just spilled out of my mouth, "Because I really like you." I had finally confessed. My watery eyes stared down at the pavement as I tried to swallow away the hard knot in my throat.

My face heat up then, barely realizing what I had confessed. I had just been about to turn on my heels and run away when I felt Gray's hand hold onto mine, stopping me.

Looking back at him with wide eyes, I saw him grin. "Go out with me."

I blinked my tears away, not sure if my mind had been playing tricks on me. "W-what?" I stuttered.

Gray's grin widened. "Go out with me, Luce." He repeated, cupping my face in his hands. "For real this time."

His gaze never left my face as my mouth opened and closed, stuttering, "I-I don't get it… Y-you want to go out with me?"

He chuckled and nodded. My cheeks flushed. I stayed there, just staring at him with wide eyes, for a few more seconds.

Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, Gray cleared his throat, "So…?"

I blinked my eyes, my face suddenly becoming warmer, "Oh! Right! I… uhm…" Rubbing my arms I glanced his way and then quickly looked down. Heart thumping madly in my chest and cheeks burning I answered a simple, "Okay." I smiled at him, making him grin widely at me. "I'd love to go out with you, Gray. For real."

Gray didn't say anything after that, instead he took my lips in his, kissing me deeply and fiercely. I smiled into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck, I leaned in.

It had been then, while we kissed under the moonlight, that I'd realized that maybe, just maybe, I could finally trust this. I could finally stop fearing falling for him.

Maybe I did believe in love, after all.

But… What about happy endings? Did I believe they existed? I would have to just wait and see.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Oh my God it's been forever since I last updated this story! Almost five months! I could give you all a million excuses as to why I didn't update, but the most honest reason is simply just 'cause I had huge writer's block! I just couldn't seem to get this chapter done, even though I knew exactly where I wanted it to go. As of right now I have every chapter planned out, it's just a matter of me sitting down and actually getting them done before I have this story completed. I think it's going to be 20 chapters long, but I'm still not too sure, so no promises lol.

Thank you so much to ZoeNarutoFairy, jdcocoagirl, Kim, taboadayvonne, Mystic Stars, and all the Guest reviewers for reviewing the last chapter! It really means a lot to me ;)

Thank you for reading. I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! And please don't forget to R&R!

Until next chapter! :)

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima!

Songs: Happily Ever After by He is We and Temporary Bliss by The Cab

~ Blue ~