There was a small nudge on her shoulder which caused Juvia's eyes to open. She squinted from the sunlight that shined in her face, rubbing her eyes as a voice echoed through her ears but didn't come out clearly. She slowly sat up, stretching her arms above her head as her eyes fell upon the person standing beside her.
She felt her face go red as Gray loomed over her, his hands on his hips as he glared down at her. He was shirtless and his hair was ruffled like he had just gotten out of bed. Juvia slowly looked down at herself, finding that she wore a white nightgown which nearly made her fall back asleep from embarrassment.
Her eyes widen as a thought popped into her head, making her face go even redder. "I-I don't even remember it. Gray-sama and Juvia," she held the covers over her mouth as she silently screamed.
Gray was waving his hands around wildly, his cheeks flushing as he protested against her thoughts. "We defiantly did not do that! I mean I did sleep in here."
"Gray-sama and Juvia in the same bed?!"
"No, I slept in the other bed!" He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down sadly at the white sheets. "After what went down last night, everyone was shaken. I don't think anyone roomed alone."
Juvia suddenly remembered their encounter with Lucy, and the way it ended. Goosebumps made their way up her arms as she gently rubbed them, looking at Gray as he spoke. "You and Wendy were supposed to share rooms but she went with Erza because you decided that drinking three bottles of red wine would make everything better."
She raised an eyebrow, looking beside her to find three empty bottles. No wonder she couldn't remember what happened after their meeting with Lucy. "Oh, that's why Juvia feels dizzy."
Gray rubbed the back of his neck, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "And Erza asked me if I could sleep in here and keep an eye on you. Luckily you feel asleep before you could get another bottle down," he motioned to his bed, where a half full bottle sat on the bedside table. However it had been open with incredible force.
"Can you blame me?" Flashes from last night went through her brain, making Juvia push her blue hair back, her bangs falling in her eyes as she imagined Lucy beating the bartender's body to a pulp. "The image of his head losing connection to his body just," she didn't finish her sentence as she tried pushing it out of her mind. The sound it had made ringed in her ears.
"I don't, which is why I downed half of that bottle," he indicated to the half full one, a tired smile crossing his face. "I'm just glad I didn't have any nightmares about it." She nodded, glad she didn't have it either.
He rose from the bed, turning his back to her as he asked, "you gonna shower?" She thought about it and decided it might help get the horror images out of her mind. She told him yes as she pushed the covers off her, getting to her feet. "I'll leave then," he said when he was already out the door, it falling shut behind him.
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As soon as the door closed behind him, Gray could breathe again. He heard the sound of her footsteps as she entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "Rough night?" He jumped by the sound and appearance of Erza, who was smirking as she looked at him.
He glared at her. "Actually yes, do you remember what happened last night?" Even though he knew that that wasn't what she was talking about, he didn't want to seem weak in front of her.
"I do," she said, her smirk falling from her face but there was still a hint of a smile as she clamped a hand on his back. "But I don't really feel like talking about our psycho friend who murdered a man right in front of us this early in the morning. How'd things go with you and Juvia last night?"
He didn't look her in the eyes as he answered. "Fine, she fell asleep after her third bottle and then I went to sleep. Simple as that, nothing happened."
"In the same bed? That's bold."
"I didn't say that and no, in separates." She shrugged, walking past him as she continued down the hall. "Where are you going?"
"To help clean up," she said, looking over her shoulder at him. "She made a gigantic mess." Gray just realized that Erza's hair was pulled into a ponytail, it swinging back and forth as she walked. She wore her usual armor with a skirt and as she rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of her expression. She was angry.
He glanced up and down the hall, wondering what room Lucy was even in. Wendy and Juvia hadn't made it that far before they met her, so it was most likely close to the stairs. He was hoping she'd be out of the building before the entire guild made it too the lobby, since you'd have to pass her room.
Gray bit his lip lightly as he leaned against the door, his head falling back as he looked up at the ceiling. He got lost in thought, so he didn't notice the door open behind him, making him fall backwards. He grabbed onto the doorway before he could fall however, pushing himself into the hallway and turn around.
Juvia watched him in surprise, holding back a laugh. She was in her usual outfit, her hat in her hands as she shut the door behind her. "What were you doing, Gray-sama?"
A blush appeared on his cheeks as he looked away embarrassed. "Just thinking," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked down the hall. He heard her footsteps behind him as she came up beside him.
"Um Gray-sama, your shirt." He frowned, glancing down to find he wasn't wearing one and that it was in her hand that hovered in front of him, her hat in the other. He quickly took it, throwing it on as she giggled. "Juvia is happy Gray-sama returned."
He froze, his hands halfway in his pockets as he turned to her. He didn't say anything though, afraid of what her answer would be. Instead he tore his gaze away and continued down the hall, the bluenette following closely behind him.
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The bar was utterly destroyed. Small pieces of glass shattered all over the ground, wood that used to be the countertop scattered everywhere. The bartender's body was nowhere in sight, Elfman and Laxus having been the ones to bury him in the back. However, the blood was still everywhere and when Erza came down the stairs the first thing she saw was Mirajane trying desperately to clean the mirror.
Lisanna was swiping the glass pieces into a dust pan when she noticed the red head standing by the stairs. "Erza-san, have you come to help?" She nodded, making her way over as she grabbed bent down and began gathering the broken counter. She threw them in a garbage bag beside her as she slithered across the ground, picking up every piece of wood she could find.
She was angry. Angry that Lucy would leave them to clean up her mess, angry that she would even do such a thing. The red head had thought up three possibilities on why the blonde would act the way she had, since she hadn't been able to sleep after the event.
One, Lucy was being controlled. By Zeref or someone else, she was committing these crimes against her will and saying things she didn't mean.
Two, Lucy had fallen in love with the Black Wizard. She did these things because he ordered them and she couldn't help but do the things the person she loved ordered her to do.
Three, Lucy had completely lost her mind. Erza knew she had gone through tough times when she was young, from losing her mother to her hardcore father. Maybe all the lost she had felt got to her and broke her mentally.
Something told Erza that all of them except for number one were correct.
When she finished cleaning up the wood, she got back on her feet and tied the black bag up when Gray came down the stairs, Juvia following closely behind him. They both looked at the scene as they walked past, revealing Natsu and Happy behind them.
The requip mage watched Natsu part with his best friend as the blue cat went up to Carla and Wendy, who were sitting on a couch across the room. The pinkette stayed by the stairs, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. She sighed, walking over to him. "How was your night?" She didn't want to ask him straight up about what had gone down, since she could see the haunting look in his eyes.
He didn't look at her as he spoke. "Rough. I didn't really sleep."
"I didn't either, if it makes you feel better," she said. He glanced over at her and smiled. "I guess you've seen through my facade on trying to make the situation better." She moved to the other side of him and leaned against the wall beside him, watching the white haired sisters work.
"That wasn't Lucy," he stated firmly. "It was someone completely different. The real Lucy is still in there and we're gonna get her back." Erza watched his face grow into determination, a Natsu smiling spreading across his face. "I can assure you that."
She nodded. "Then I'm defiantly in. I'd like to see the real Lucy smile, if I do say so myself. Now how about we all leave this place and get breakfast in a non-destroyed place?" Natsu jumped off the wall, his eyes shining with glee.
"Defiantly! Happy, we're gonna go get some food!" The blue cat jumped into the sky and sprouted wings, flying over to the pinkette with his face drooling.
"Yes, I need fish," his drooling smile slowly dispersed from his face as his eyes fell upon something behind Natsu and Erza. The two mages turned to find the large man from the night before looming over the, the one that had almost choked Lucy to death.
He scanned the room as everyone tensed, Erza moving her hand behind her back as a sword appeared in her grasp. His eyes fell upon the damaged bar and sighed, his eyes growing sad. "I'm terribly sorry for the trouble, Fairy Tail. Heartfilia has a bad temper and it gets out of hand sometimes."
Erza frowned, the sword disappearing as she straightened from her fighting stance. No one spoke as he moved away from the stairwell, revealing the little girl from before as well. Erza recalled her name being Lissa, the ladybug girl. Except today she wore a dress that was black and blue.
Lissa bowed gently, her tiny voice barely heard from the back. "I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience," and she scurried to the man's side.
"My name is Xavier Tachibana," the man said, nodding his head. "It is a pleasure too meet you all. This is Lissa Alexander, she's a bit shy but also has a rather bad temper."
"Is Lucy here?" Erza asked, the question hanging in the air as Xavier looked over to her. He stared into her eyes for a while, making the requip mage somewhat uncomfortable before he answered.
"No. She and the last two members left early this morning, so you don't have to deal with her until the Games start later on in the afternoon." Everyone seemed to sigh with relief as the two Premonition members made their way to the doors, Lissa exiting before he did. He didn't look back at them as he said, "you all better hope you don't face Lucy in the Games. You'd defiantly be killed."
His comment swirled through the lobby as the door was left open behind them.