Melting Gray [Gratsu]

38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

☆ Natsu Dragneel ☆

A/N: SORRY SORRY SORRY I HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATING!! I will try harder. But school is stating and I'm going through personal struggles and all that boring jazz. This chapter is kind of short, I know, and I know you're getting confused, but do not fret! The fact that I'm almost at 100 THOUSAND READS (holy crap) is inspiring me to update!

Thank you for 100k reads and 700+ followers! I love your guys' support even though I'm not nearly as active as before. <33

This is also unedited, so sorry for any amateur mistakes.

Normally it takes about an estimated year for the school day to end, as it is seven hours of unadulterated torture, but with the fact that your boyfriend has ignored three of your calls and a text is weighing you down - the twenty-ish pounds of homework and reading material giving me a constant battle with gravity doesn't help much either - the day feels even longer.

The last class of the day, AP Stat, was physically painful to endure. The navy blue beanbag next to me was empty, and I didn't know if I felt sad or angry. After thinking about it for a minute, I realized I just felt numb. Like there was something important missing.

Well, there was. Gray not being at school made it a million times worse, almost like there was no point in going here.

I stared at the clock. It seemed like it wasn't moving at all. I found it weird that when you stared at clocks, they moved slower than a snail, but when you looked away and stared at something worth looking at, time flies.

There was nothing worth looking at here. The only thing that is was absent from school today.

After watching the second hand of the clock pivot around the numbers three full revolutions, and full-well knowing that there were thirty-two minutes left of class to suffer through. I found myself raising my hand and interrupting the lesson.

"Yes, Natsu?" Mr. Clive paused from writing the population mean statistic formula on the board to answer my question. His arm remained in mid-air, poised to continue the formula.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked meekly, wrapping my fingers around the strap of my backpack.

His eyes flickered down to my bag, and his eyebrow twitched above his unreadable expression, but he nodded anyways. He turned around to his desk and scribbled out a hall pass with the blueberry-colored whiteboard marker. "Take this pass."

The cool metal of his silver marriage ring brushed against my finger when I took the pass and smiled gratefully at him without even batting an eyelash. Something in his eyes told me he knew I was about to skip, but to prove him wrong and not to disappoint him. I walked out of the room calmly, and took about ten careful steps away from the door until I judged I was far enough and broke out into a run towards the exit.

I wasn't thinking straight as I blew by the library, the cafeteria, the main office and then through the double doors like I was a quarterback trying to make the winning touchdown. A sharp pain exploded in my shoulder but I ignored it, figuring it would go away on it's own. I made a beeline for the parking lot, chucked my backpack in the passenger seat, threw the car in reverse, and tried to drive.

The car didn't move, and I began to panic, pressing my foot on the accelerator harder. I cried out in frustration before realizing I forgot to put the keys in the ignition and nearly slapped myself in the face to my stupidity. Hey, when you're running on adrenaline, you're not thinking properly.

The engine roared to life, and I sighed with content as I looked behind me and eased out of the parking lot. I forced myself to drive under the speed limit in the school zone and drove out of campus, gripping onto the steering wheel like it was my lifeline. I felt like a marionette, being controlled by some unknown force against my will, driving myself towards Gray's house uninvited and without warning. Hopefully I wouldn't seem too rude.

I grinded my teeth together nervously and held the steering wheel tighter. I remember my driver's education teacher always yelling at me to keep a loose hold on the wheel, but I always found myself gripping it so tightly my knuckles turned white.

Thankfully, the drive to Gray's house wasn't that far. The school was just around the block from the beach, and Gray's house was only a minute drive from the shore. I pulled into his neighborhood, checking the streets and sidewalks for elementary and secondary school kids who could be walking home. One of his neighbors must have had guests over, because the closest place I could find to park was three doors down the hill.

I barely remembered to lock the doors as I shoved my keys into my pocket and ran as fast as I could up the hill and towards his front door. I cut through his yard, took the porch steps two at a time, rang the doorbell, and knocked quietly. I rested my head on the doorframe, breathing heavily from all the running I've been doing. Conclusion: physical activity sucks, no matter the reason.

I think I was expecting Gray to answer the door, as he knows I'll always knock three times after ringing the doorbell (sort of carrying on the tradition of tapping his shoulder back when he was blind), so I was slightly taken aback when it was Ultear instead of Gray.

"Oh, hey, Natsu," Ultear raised her voice a smidge when she said my name. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to see Gray." I was surprised how calm I sounded, albeit slightly breathy from running.

"Yeah, I'll bet you are," Ultear gave me a knowing look. "But uh, he's sick."

Sick? In all the months I've known Gray, not once have I seen him get sick. I decided not to say this to Ul, and instead nodded sympathetically. "Can I see him?"

"Uh, I don't know. He's like throwing up and sneezing all over the place and stuff, Aunt Ur says he's super contagious."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Nevermind, then. "Can you tell him I tried to call him?" I told Ultear. "And tell him I stopped by. I hope he gets better. I'll stop by again soon."

"Yeah..." Ul whispered. "I do too."

Before I could say anything, or even a quick goodbye myself, for that matter, she murmured a goodbye and slammed the door in my face. The brass door handle was mere inches away from my precious face, and I took a step back, staring confusedly ahead. Shaking my head a bit, I turned on my heel and headed back down the hill to where my car was, feeling slightly defeated. I was only gone for about ten minutes, I realized when I checked my watch. However, living up to Mr. Clive's expectations didn't exactly bode well with me right now. I also knew that the house would be empty, as Grandine had water aerobics or a cycle class or something at the sports center, and Wendy had cheerleading practice. I felt lame, considering I didn't do anything myself.

What do I want to do? I thought to myself as I packed myself back into my vehicle. I don't really have any interests, and senior year is coming to a close. When I had my college counseling session with my guidance counselor, I left indecisive about my choices for my major. I knew what I didn't want to be; anything in the medical field. Hospitals held too many horrible, horrible memories for me. Gray, Lisanna, my mother...

Tomorrow was my mother's birthday, I remembered. I had known it anyway, it was the first thought in my mind from the moment my eyes fluttered open this morning, and that was just another factor that was killing my mood today. Igneel, Wendy, and I had made plans to meet tomorrow at the cemetery, where she was buried fourteen years ago.

I sighed shakily, feeling tears brim on my eyes. "God, I've gotten so soft this year," I groaned to myself, resting my forehead on the arc of the rubber steering wheel. It's all too much to handle, and it was getting to me. I realized I needed an escape from everybody for a little bit.

However, I knew there was no real escape from your life except for leaving it altogether. And that was completely out of the question, so I pushed that thought away immediately. I was stuck with this life, and I was going to wrap it up and make the most of it, no matter how sad I felt in it.

I remembered to turned the keys in the ignition this time and allowed the suffocating silence to cloud around me as I drove home.