Gray had planned to surprise Erza ever since they left Poppy Village. He had shared his plan with Natsu, which was the real reason he had left the night before. Natsu had filled everyone in on what had happened, and they were as happy as they could be that she was safe. They immediately agreed to Gray's plan and began setting everything up. There was, of course, strawberry cake, as well as all of Erza's other favorite foods, which Gray knew since they had grown up together. Everyone had brought gifts, as well as heartfelt messages about how glad they were that she was alright.
When Erza walked in and saw everything, she was overcome with gratitude and joy. She couldn't stop thinking about how lucky she was to have such a wonderful, loving guild. They were so kind and caring...she had never imagined that she meant that much to people. She rarely spent time with anyone other than a handful of her closest friends, so it struck her that even those like Max and Reedus would have been devastated by he absence.
"Thank you all so much for this. I really don't know what to say! You all care so much...I just...I never realized..." she said tearfully.
"Don't thank us, thank Gray. It was his idea, and he planned everything," said Mirajane.
"Is that true, Gray?" Erza asked.
"Yeah...I just thought it would be nice for everyone to show how much you mean to them, and what a big part of our guild you are," he replied.
"That's right, Erza," said Master Makarov, suddenly appearing." Never forget that you are in Fairy Tail, and we are a family. All of you are my children, and what happens to one affects all of us."
Erza nodded, and then, much to Gray's surprise and delight, she ran to him and gave him a hug. Once he recovered from his shock, he melted into her warm embrace, wanting to remember the feeling for as long as he lived.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Always, Erza," he replied. Always...
Those two words, though simple, meant the world to Gray. She had whispered them so that no one else had heard, and to Gray those words were just for him. Just to be able to hold on to that, those two words from her to him, was more than any present he could have ever wanted. Then the moment passed, and the one thing--the one and only thing that could have ruined the moment for Gray--came in through the door. Jellal.
Erza's face lit up like the Fourth of July, and she ran to him, nearly tackling him with her ferocious hug.
"Jellal! I'm so happy you came! How did you know?" she eagerly inquired.
"Erza, I heard what happened, so I had to come, just to see for myself that you were alright. Now that I've seen you I can rest peacefully again," he responded.
The party carried on for everyone but Gray. Jellal's presence had been a surprise, but Gray wasn't mad. Jellal made Erza happy, and he was the one she wanted to be with, so Gray accepted it. Besides, Jellal was a good friend, a great man, and a powerful wizard. Plus, he had known Erza even before she joined Fairy Tail. Jellal would take care of Erza. Especially after the Tower of Heaven, Gray knew Jellal would protect Erza.
But still, the look on Erza's face when Jellal had come...it was like Natsu 'fire dragon iron fist'-ing him in the gut, only it was his heart that took the blow. Her face had never lit up like that for him...and he couldn't help but wish that she felt that way for him instead of Jellal.
Suddenly, he couldn't stay there any longer, so he excused himself on the pretense that he wasn't feeling well, and he left the guild hall. He needed to clear his head, so he went to the one place that still offered him peace, and his favorite memory. He went to the place where he had fallen in love with Erza.