L o v e

Under

T h e

Umbrella

Eighth

THE FEELING THAT BLOOMED THAT AFTERNOON (Part 1 of 2)

by Mozzey

Gray Fullbuster's fuzzy, wiry, confusing attraction towards Juvia Lockser began to expand on one seemingly normal afternoon, in a seemingly normal park, in a seemingly normal town called Magnolia.

Don't get Gray wrong. He never disliked the water mage. Truth be told, he just simply never understood his feelings about her. That's all there is to it.

And that's actually saying something...because she's the only person he actually had these 'confusing, jaunty feelings' for.

But why would he say all these things out loud?

Anyway...

He never imagined it would happen—neither did his guild mates, neither did the villagers, neither did the ducks that were busying themselves with the cool, gentle surface of the park pond. Nobody—literally nobody in this rotten world—saw it coming, but the arrow hit Gray just the same—and boy, how fast it took. Like a bullet from a gun, like a yellow school bus driven by a drunk driver towards a tree, like these silly metaphors the author stupidly made up to fit this little tale.

Straight, fast, bull's eye.

It was all Erza's doing—Gray would sometimes miserably think as he tossed and turned on his bed, apathetic of the dawn outside his blinds and how he haven't made a wink at all. Erza just had to send him to fetch her strawberry cakes...

Oh, how the author digressed.

So Erza, on that seemingly normal afternoon, asked—or rather, forced—Gray to get her strawberry short cakes from the Bakery near the park where Juvia and a certain white-haired ice mage were also, coincidentally, having their date. It's not that Juvia had given up her pursuit for her Gray-sama, it's just that, it occurred to her that she couldn't wait forever.

But that premise was for another matter.

Although that specific premise was unbeknownst to Gray, who was sulking as he sordidly carried all twenty three of Erza's cakes inside colorful boxes, so as he walked on the sidewalks surrounding the park where Juvia, and as you may have guessed by now, Lyon, were dating, his eyes began to budge out of his sockets as the view of the couple began to gather his attention.

"What the..." He murmured uncertainly, raising an eye brow. Was that Juvia? And Lyon?

Oh but there is no way. Juvia will never lower her standards and go out with someone like that bastard...

He heard someone giggle girlishly. A giggle he could only associate with her. With Juvia.

As reality dawned on him, as the truth slapped him hard on his unbelieving face, all twenty three boxes of Erza's strawberry cake began to slip from his hands, causing a large humdrum of splach! and sploooch! to resonate loudly as the cakes hit the cold pavements. Gray gulped, not because he knew that Erza is absolutely going to kill him, nor because the passersby began looking at him curiously, but because the two individuals he'd been spying earlier on were looking directly at his bare chested form in the horizon.

Fuck.

He scratched his head awkwardly and began turning around when the sweet voice of Juvia stopped him from his tracks. "Wait, wait. Gray-sama!"

Foot steps loomed behind him, her feet very distinctive in his ears. Louder, bigger, manly ones followed, and he knew they were Lyon's.

He heaved a sigh, quite realizing how deep the shit he just got himself into, and faced the couple with—he hoped looked quite real enough—an apathetic gaze.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia puffed as her cheeks reddened. "Ju—Juvia didn't expect you to..."

"I wasn't—" He began embarrassedly. "I mean—I wasn't spying on you or anything."

Lyon smirked and curled his arm on Juvia's waist rather defensively. "Well, Gray, you looked quite shocked. Must be hard processing that Juvia had already gotten over your stupid, bastard, dense as—"

"Eh! Um..." Juvia choked in the midst of her heavy, nervous breathing. She peered at the dark-haired ice mage anxiously, her eyes anticipating him to fight back, to claim her, to defend her, to tell Lyon that her love for him—which he knew she knew that he actually knew—wasn't a waste of time, energy and thought.

But Gray, the idiot, bakka-bakka, stripper Gray, didn't fight back nor said anything for the matter. He just stood, staring wildly at the two like a lost, hungry puppy in a carnival. They stayed like that for a minute or two, before Gray, with clenched fists, hesitantly turned around and walked away.

His foot steps faded away, and along with it was Juvia's hope. Her heart ached, sunk and beaten. Lyon—even though he was supposed to be happy right now—became bothered by the depressed look on Juvia's face. He took her hand and kissed it gently, causing the water mage to jump in surprise. Lyon lead her back to the bench they were seating on earlier, eager to make her happy. If it weren't for that bastard...

Gray's hands shakily shoved themselves inside his pant pockets, sweaty. Why? That look on her face petrified him, made him regret things. Why was he this stupid, though? Was he supposed to say anything? At the tip of his tongue, there were words itching to be let out. But he was too scared to utter them out loud. That look... What if... Oh, god... What if it was his...

Last chance?

He stared at the street. He wasn't far off from the park Juvia and Lyon were. He was quite sure that any moment now, Juvia's hope... or whatever that is... and his last chance... will waste away to nothingness. He had the feeling that Juvia would completely submit herself to somebody. To Lyon. Because, simply, he never acted. Never responded. Never acknowledged her.

He spat a curse before running towards the park, bumping a passerby or two, and when he finally saw the two of them, began running faster than ever as if any second now she'll say yes to Lyon and he's already done for.

"JUVIA! JUVIAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He shouted as he ran, almost tumbling over a rock. "HEYYYY!"

Lyon angrily stood up, spreading his arms in front of Juvia's shocked figure defensively.

But Gray actually didn't care about him, and stuttered as he recovered his breath. "Hey Juvia! I...um..."

Alright, so maybe Gray actually had some things to say. Although he never knew the right words to express it. How utterly stupid was that?

Realizing how stupid he was at that very second, he resorted to plan B—an ingenious plan that just struck him that very moment from where he was standing on. Quite clever, if he may say so himself.

Pushing Lyon out of the way, (that made the white-haired mage open his jaw in disbelief.) he reached for Juvia's trembling hand and pulled her towards him, his face leaning on her forehead before kissing her senselessly on the lips. Her mouth was soft with the slightest flavor of milk, and Gray would never shrug the fact that kissing her felt oh so fucking great.

Breathless, the two of them untangled their mouths wearily after what seemed like a long time. Staring into her beautiful, oceanic eyes, a bit dazedly, he muttered, "You... I don't... Like what you looked, um, before."

Juvia was in utter confusion... and anger. Anger at being played at. Anger at his insensitivity and his selfishness. After apathetically walking out, leaving her flabbergasted and hanging like an idiot, here was he, running after her... only to show her who's dominant between him and his rival Lyon. A competition, that's what all this was supposed to be for Gray. For her Gray-sama.

Angry, confused, frustrated and anxious, Juvia Lockser slapped Gray Fullbuster, her long time crush and love of her life, hard on the face.

Author's note: Aaaaand first part's done! Aaaannnddd the first part's quite short! But I still do hope you've enjoyed the first part as much as I did whilst writing it. Please R&R I... am begging! Reviews motivate writers so much! Thank you! I'll be updating the second part soon. :-)