How Writing Fanfiction Saved Me

Take My Hand

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong To Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 13: Take My Hand

"You haven't been answering your phone."

Gray startled out of his reverie to find Erza standing in his room, her hands placed on her hips and a disapproving expression on her face. He quickly closed the browser window on his computer before she could see what he had been looking at and swiveled his desk chair to face her.

"I'm sorry, a lot has happened the last few days and I haven't really felt like talking to anyone."

"What's wrong?"

Gray sighed, he wasn't sure whether he should tell her or not. Natsu was so private these days but then again it's not like it wouldn't be public knowledge soon. "Zeref is dying, he's not expected to survive the summer."

Erza looked at him in shock. "Are you sure?"

Gray nodded, "Yeah, that's why Natsu and Wendy were here last weekend."

"I fail to see what the two things have to do with each other."

"When he dies my parents will become Natsu and Wendy's legal guardians and they'll come live with us. My mom thought it would be a good idea to get them used to being around us again before that happens."

"Zeref......is dying?" Erza repeated the words slowly watching Gray for any sign of deception.

Gray met her gaze and then looked down.

Erza sat on Gray's bed. "Are you kidding me?" She said with more than a bit of anger. "What the hell?"

"I wish I was."

Erza's tough demeanor crumbled and Gray found himself holding Erza as she sniffled, he'd done most of his crying Sunday night after everyone had left. Zeref had been a large part of their lives growing up. Even though he was three years older than them he'd always played with them and participated in their constant sleepovers. He'd always been a bit of an older brother to the two of them as well since they were both only children.

"How's Natsu handling it?" Erza asked with concern once she'd gotten herself under control.

"Not well. He figured it out before Zeref could tell us and ran out of the house. My dad said he had a panic attack. I know my parents are worried about him. I'm worried too. Wendy wouldn't stop crying, it was awful." He got a little weepy as he remembered holding Wendy against him and trying to calm her down until Zeref returned from checking on Natsu.

He wanted to tell her about how Natsu had seemed scared of him and how he hadn't really talked to him since but he knew if he did Erza wouldn't stop until Natsu told her what was wrong and that would destroy what little they had managed to recover of their friendship. Gray wanted to know what was going on inside Natsu's head but not at Erza's expense.

They sat quietly for a few minutes each deep in their own sad thoughts.

"Should we go see him?" Erza asked him suddenly.

"We can't, he's at Akane Beach with his family. He won't be back until next Wednesday and we can't call him either, his grandfather made them leave all their phones behind."

"Why does all this stuff happen to them? It doesn't seem fair."

Gray could only shrug, he'd wondered the same thing many times. When they were little he had thought Natsu had the perfect family. They were warm, loving, fun and oh so welcoming. He'd loved going to their house and being a part of it all and it was devastating for him to see what had become of all of them.