Juvia

My body moves and before I realize it I've taken off. I...I need to get away. I stumble a few times in the snow but I keep going. My head is pounding, and the cold is biting at my cheeks and nose. People look and point in my direction, but I ignore them. Everything hurts. It hurts to think, every step further I take feels like something in me is dying.

'Am I dying?'

Death doesn't sound too bad. Whatever can make the ache in my chest go away. It was making it hard to breathe. Flashes of what happened cause me to loose my footing but I quickly straighten and keep running blindly out of school. Why...Just..Why?! Why would Gray-sama do that to Juvia...

I collapse at the park right were the fountain was. It was a fairly large fountain, for a park at least. Surprisingly, with the temperature being extra cold this year, it wasn't frozen yet. When I was little my mother would bring me here to make friends, but the other kids didn't like me, so I was usually alone drawing little water droplets and flowers on the sidewalk around the fountain with my little blue chalk crayon, hoping that someone would take pity on me and join me. Maybe even be my friend.

Chuckling dryly at the memory, I lean heavily on the edge of the fountain and attempt to catch my breath, hoping that this was all just a nightmare and that I wake up soon. This had to be a nightmare. Gray-sama would never say those things to me... He was the light to my dark world. He would never abandon me for Ultear. The girl who has tormented and bullied me since...forever.

I smile, trying to convince myself that it was true. I reach down and make ripples in the fountain water with my finger. I whimper slightly when I make contact with the freezing water.

"LOOK OUT!!!"

Before my brain can process what those words mean, I'm hit by something hard and round causing me to lose my balance and fall inside the fountain with a loud splash. The water is so cold my body numbs up immediately. Time slows as I float silently. It's so peaceful and quiet in here, even though the water is beyond freezing,

'Juvia feels like she belongs here...'

The ache in my chest is relaxed a bit as I curl up inside the fountain.

'Juvia wishes to stay he-'

I'm suddenly yanked up and out of the cold fountain. Immediately, the ice-cold air hits me, shaking me out of my daze, reality crashing down on me.

'It's not a dream...it was real...'

I vaguely feel someone shaking me and asking me something.

"I-it's n-not a d-d-dream..." I whisper, staring at the ground my teeth chattering from the cold. Thick rain drops begin to fall from the sky as I slowly sink to my knees on the sidewalk. Rain not snow... The ache in my chest and the constriction in my throat becomes unbearable. I double over on the snowy ground as my sobs shake my entire body, hitting it the ground with my fist.

'Gray-sama...Why Gray-sama...Juvia loves you...'

Something lifts my head up a bit and places it on something warm, hard and... caring. Without thinking, I wrap my arms around the object and to my surprise the object returns the gesture, placing one hand on the back of my head and the other on my waist, hugging me tight. I sobbed my heart and throat dry. I sobbed till the heavy rain turned into nothing more than a light drizzle. I sobbed myself asleep in the arms of this unknown object.

Erza

My bangs shadow over my eyes as I turn and run out of school. Everywhere I look I see that. Her sitting on his lap and him whispering in her ear. Telling her how he used me to get her. How he loves her. I grit my teeth and run faster, paying no attention to where I'm going. It didn't matter where I was going as long as it was away. Away from them. The more space between us the better.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I slip on some black ice. I fall hard onto the somewhat frozen road or an alleyway, scraping my cheek and hands. I sit back on my knees and just feel the stinging on my face and hands. It felt nice...

I hear laughter behind me but I don't bother to turn around; instead I focus my gaze on a nearby window with with my reflection. I couldn't help but compare my face with hers. She had smooth, soft, silky looking skin whereas I my skin was cumbersome and rough due to acne. She had big round cute eyes and long luscious lashes while I had tiny dots due to my farsighted glasses. I hear yelling behind me but I continue to ignore it. Instead, I begin to laugh at my stupidity.

'In what godforsaken universe would he have chosen me over her?!'

I'm suddenly grabbed by my shoulder lifted and slammed into a brick wall. In front of me was a man with the scent of alcohol all over him. He seemed angry at me for ignoring him earlier. I let my bangs shadow over my eyes as I continue to laugh at myself. This seems to anger him more because he slams me into the wall again. It hurt like hell but I didn't mind. He begins to yell in my face but he slurs his words so much that I don't understand a word he says. This causes me to laugh more. He raises his fist and swings at me...

Only to be yanked away from me from behind. I keep my gaze on the snow as I continue to laugh at myself. Another voice snaps me out of my laughing fit.

"Hey are you ok?"

I snap my head up and see a boy about my age with jet black hair and black eyes looking at me with worry. I think about his question as a drop of blood slides down my scraped cheek onto the snow, staining it. I start laughing hysterically again and this seems to send him on edge.

'Are you okay?'

His question echoes in my mind as my knees begin to give in and my laughter dissolves into nothing but my own sobs.

"No..." I whisper. "I'm not okay."

My sobs ring throughout the empty alleyway. To my utter surprise the boy crouches down and pulls my head to his chest, stroking my hair while saying that I will be fine. This causes me to sob harder. It begins to rain heavily but he never so much as moves an inch. He doesn't stop stroking my hair. He just tells me to let it all out.

And I do.

Lucy

Unable to take anymore I run.

And run.

And run.

I don't know where I'm going. It was all a blur. All I know is that I need to get away.

Sprinting down hallways.

Crack.

Bursting through doors.

Crack.

Flying up the stairs. Breaking more with each step I take.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

I trip a couple of times but I keep running. I run till I run out of space to run to and energy. I throw myself onto the fence around the roof and cling tightly to it for a moment while breathing heavily. I was trembling but I didn't know if it was from the freezing weather or something else. It was so cold that I could see my breath.

Inhale.

Crack

Exhale.

Crack

Each breath I took grew more ragged than the last, his words and reality were beginning to set in. I close my eyes and lean my head on the fence. My crush, my best friend, my first love.

'Honestly Lucy, did you seriously think he would ever look at you?!'

I feel a presence behind me but I don't bother to turn look at who it is. At this point I could care less who it is. I'm beyond feeling at this point. Whatever they had to throw at me. I was to broken to care. I'm suddenly turned around from behind and strong secure warm arms enveloped me. I gasp and tense in shock from the sudden warmth but I don't move or make a sound.

Inhale.

Crack.

Exhale.

Crack.

Inhale.

Crack.

Exha-

CRACK!!

I slowly sink to my knees, my uncontrollable sobs shaking my entire body. The boy goes down with me, holding me and rubbing my back. It begins to rain but the boy doesn't seem to notice. He whispers in my ear that everything will be fine, I just bury my head I his chest and cry louder, choking on my sobs from time to time. The rain mercilessly pelted at us like thousands of sharp needles but the boy doesn't leave. He stays.

'He stayed with me for over an hour on the roof.'

When my hiccups died down the boy said nothing, he just took my hand and began walking. I walk as if I'm in a trance. I let him pull me along to lord knows where. We walk for about 15 minutes before some synapses fire up my zombie-like brain.

I immediately stop walking and pull my hand out of his grasp. The boy seemed to be telling me something but my mind couldn't wrap itself around his words. He gently grabs my hand again and gives it a reassuring squeeze before leading me again. I let myself be led, not looking up from the ground once.

Levy

I attempt to tell Gajeel goodbye but I choke in the middle of the words so I take a large stumbling step back and run. I'll be damned if I let him see my tears. I try to cover my face as much as possible, not wanting to be seen. I stumble into the warm library.

Thankfully it's empty as usual and I make way to the very end of the library, bumping into literally everything due to my blurry vision from tears. I'm finally taken down by a chair.

I try desperately to quiet down my sobs, causing me to cough and choke on my tears. My headband slips off and my frizzy hair poofs up. Still sobbing I wipe my eyes with my scarf and clutch my headband to my chest, doubling over as if I had a stomach ache.

'Gajeel... You were my hero...why... I...I...'

'You what Levy?! Love him?! Ha! As if he'd ever look at you! Have you ever looked at yourself?! You heard him! Any interaction he had with you was out of pity!'

I slump over in resignation, the worst of my sobs we're gone and no I was crying silent tears of defeat. My mind clouds over with dark thoughts and emotions. I stare straight ahead but see nothing. Everything is too blurry. I automatically touch my face to feel for my glasses. Yes, I'm still wearing them, it must be leftover tears. I let my hand drop to my side again. A wave of numbness overcomes me.

'I don't like this... I want to feel something.'

My breathing becomes panicked and I grab and pull at my hair, hyperventilating.

'No panic attacks no panic attacks! Calm down Levy!!!'

My breathes were coming out in short gasps.

'I can't feel anything!!!!'

My mind begins to draw a blank when suddenly a figure drops down on its knees in front of me and embraces me entirely. Shocked, I stop breathing for a moment. My numbness tried to reject the gesture but he merely hugged me tighter.

Slowly my breathing evened out and I relaxed into the embrace, setting my forehead in the crook of his neck.

'He's so warm..'

We've been meaning to post this fanfic on this site for a while and now I finally did it! whoo!

After, like, 8 months.

At least we got to it eventually.