----- 26 -----
The day of the school festival came. Gray and Juvia went together. They are having fun checking out the booths and wandering around when some of their classmates had to get Gray.
"Gray! We're looking for you!" one of them said.
"The pageant will start soon. Sorry Juvia."
"It's okay. Good luck, Gray-sama. I'll be cheering you on."
Juvia smiled at him as she held her fist up, telling him to cheer up and do his best.
As his classmates pull him away, Juvia sighed and went sight seeing all alone. That wasn't too long though. Before she knew it, Natsu is already walking with her.
"Are you alone?" Natsu asked.
"Am I?"
Natsu grinned at her answer.
"No. Come on, there's this tasty takoyaki stall that you really need to try!"
Natsu grabbed her by the arm, and the two of them went together.
Natsu got one order for them to share. When Juvia tasted one, her eyes went wide.
"Mmm, it's really good!"
"Right?" Natsu grinned and is giving Juvia another piece, which Juvia gladly accepted.
Natsu tried to hide his blush.
"Did someone abducted Lucy on your date?" Juvia asked when she finished eating.
"Yes, but that is not a date." Natsu answered.
"Lucy likes you. She might think that was a date."
"Why? Are you jealous?"
Juvia laughed.
"Of course not. I have my best friend to take me too!"
"And somebody grabbed your date?"
Juvia nodded. "Apparently, our dates are kidnapped by their responsibility."
"What a bad date. Good thing we have each other."
Did Juvia's heart skipped a beat when Natsu rested his arms over her shoulder and pulled her close? Juvia looked at Natsu.
"Just don't want to lose you in this sea of people."
Is this alright though? To feel something you can't describe about someone you certainly won't have?
----- 27 -----
Natsu and Juvia went to their classmates when the pageant started.
"Where did the two of you went?" Levy asked them.
"We just looked around..." Juvia answered.
"Looked around looking like a couple."
"As if you didn't went with Gajeel." Natsu said which made Levy blushed.
"Lucy's looking for you, you know."
"Pageants are not my thing."
"She is your 'best friend'. You need to support her." Levy said.
"I'm here now."
Levy sighed. "You're so clueless, Natsu."
Juvia is just silent. She knew that Levy and Lucy are close. Well, they have nicknames for each other. Natsu is not clueless, he just doesn't want to hurt Lucy.
"I am not. Jeez, Levy."
Natsu inched closer to Juvia. Levy looked at them and sighed.
"If you say so."
When Gray and Lucy walked out towards the stage, everyone was cheering and mesmerized. They look good together, like a princess and a prince.
"Lucy is really pretty." Juvia said. "They..." Juvia is about to say they look perfect but she stopped.
She knows Natsu likes Lucy. Unlike her, Natsu is just not sure. Juvia has already moved on. To Juvia, Gray is her best friend but to Natsu, Lucy could be more than his best friend, she thought.
"They are what?" Natsu asked.
"Never mind. Lucy really looks like a princess."
"Yeah. They really look like they are made for one another."
Juvia looked at Natsu. Is he really saying that? Natsu looked back at Juvia.
"What? Afraid Lucy and Gray might get together again?" Natsu asked.
"No, I'm not afraid. I'm just concerned about you."
"Why?"
"Aren't you jealous? Seeing them up there? Together?"
Natsu thought about it for a second then shook his head.
"Surprisingly, I'm not. I feel all right here, with you."
Juvia's heart thumped. What did Natsu said?
"W-what?" Juvia asked again.
Natsu leaned in closer and whispered in her ear.
"I feel all right here, with you."
----- 28 -----
Gray can't even keep his calm after what he saw. Everytime he went out on the stage, his eyes were locked on Juvia. And why does Natsu have to be with her? And when did Natsu got so close to her?
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked him.
"I'm not! Lucy, I thought you confessed to Natsu?!"
Lucy was shocked when Gray raised his voice.
"I did! And he said he's not sure anymore!"
"Sorry, Lucy... I.."
"You saw them too, right?"
Gray nodded.
"This is not the time to sulk about it or get angry, Gray. Let's win this first then we can get back to them..."
"You're right. Sorry again..."
"It's fine."
Lucy and Gray won the pageant. After the award ceremony, their classmates congratulated them.
"Gray-sama! You did great!" Juvia said and hugged Gray. That didn't escape Natsu's eyes.
"Come at our house tonight, Gray-sama. Juvia already baked you a cake, in case you win!"
Juvia smiled at Gray. There was nothing to be jealous of what he saw earlier, right? Juvia will end up falling for him again, right? Who is Gray kidding? That was just a friendly smile...
"You sure it's just in case I win?"
Juvia laughed. "Fine, you got me! That's also when in case you lose."
Gray laughed with her.
"You're doubting me?"
"No, it's not that. By the way, you really look good Gray-sama. You looked like a prince! When you walked together with Lucy, you two look like royalties."
Gray blushed at Juvia's compliments.
"Thanks..."
"If I didn't know you, I'd definitely assume that the two of you are a couple."
"We are not."
Juvia looked at Gray. "I know. It's just that you give off that vibe, you know..."
Gray looked hurt. "S-sorry, Gray-sama..."
"It's better if you think that we look like a couple." Gray said and walked away. Juvia followed him.
"My old self did. My old self fantasized that, Gray-sama..." Juvia said when she caught up with him. Gray stopped for a second then walked again.
"Did you really love me? How can you forget that so easily?" Gray asked her which made Juvia stop.
"It wasn't that easy!" Juvia yelled, her voice cracked. That made Gray stop in his tracks.
Students are now looking at them.
Gray turned to look at Juvia, but Juvia just ran away.
----- 29 -----
Gray followed Juvia in a secluded area in their school. She sat down on a bench, she's wiping her face with her hands.
Gray approached her.
"Sorry, Juvia..."
"It wasn't easy, Gray-sama..."
Gray sat beside her.
"Tell me everything, Juvia. I'll listen..."
Juvia cried harder.
"I loved you... And I promised myself to wait, Gray-sama. I told myself to wait. But you pushed me away by getting colder. You made it clear you can't love me back! I tried and tried... But I got tired, Gray-sama... And when Lucy came into your life, you forgot all about me! How can you expect me to wait blindly!? How can you expect me to be miserably in love with you!? I loved you but that hurts! I loved you and it wasn't that easy to heal!"
Gray was stabbed in the heart by Juvia's words. What even hurt him is seeing her cry because of him.
"I'm sorry..."
"I've accepted the fact that we can only be best of friends, Gray-sama."
Gray hugged her.
"Let me change it. Let me try."
Juvia sniffed.
"I don't know... Isn't this what you wanted before?"
Gray gritted his teeth. He was a stupid grade A as**ole.
"I don't know what I wanted before... All I know is I don't want to lose you."
"You didn't want to lose me as a friend. And I am still here. You won't lose me."
When did everything became so complicated?
"I... I want you more than just a friend."
"I'm afraid I can't be that girl anymore, Gray-sama..."
Even if Gray had that small spot in Juvia's heart, Juvia knew that it will not blossom into romantic love anymore.
----- 30 -----
Juvia noticed that Gray has been putting some distance between them. Juvia understood that Gray needed it. Besides, he's been hanging out with Loke for the mean time.
It's been a while since she went to the rooftop again. This is the first place she talked to Natsu. Natsu wiped her tears using his scarf because, well, Juvia is a crybaby.
Juvia never wanted for Gray to feel the pain she felt before. And Juvia knows that Gray deserves better... If Gray had said his feelings earlier, then maybe, they would be a happy couple now.
Juvia sighed. She tucked some strands of her hair behind her ears that is blown away by the breeze. She heard the door opened so she turned her head to see who is that.
"Yo! What are you doing here?"
It is Natsu.
"I'm just thinking..."
"Thinking about what?"
Natsu sat beside her.
"About Gray and me..."
"Are you sure you can't give him a chance anymore?"
Juvia nodded. "I am sure, Natsu. Gray-sama deserves better than a chance..."
"Maybe you're just afraid of getting hurt again."
Juvia shook her head.
"I loved him and I got hurt. I would've jumped with happiness when he said he also felt the same way. I would've risked it all, Natsu. But I chose to choose me first. I chose to love me first. And when I finally did, I accepted it. Gray-sama and I are best friends and that's it."
"Don't you want to risk again? With Gray?"
"My decision is final. The love I feel for Gray-sama is platonic."
"Don't make this so much hard for me, Juvia." Natsu mumbled.
"What did you say?"
"Never mind."
"How about you and Lucy? Are your feelings clear now?"
If Natsu is to be honest, everything has become clear back in the school festival. But how can he hurt Lucy by saying that he only sees her as a friend?
"I still don't know. I'm not still sure... But I don't want to hurt Lucy."
"Making her wait for too long will hurt her more. Don't leave her hanging, Natsu. You know what I've been through and we both know Lucy does not deserve that."
Natsu knows it.
"I know."
"Don't make the same mistake like Gray-sama..."
"I won't."
"If you love Lucy, you should tell her."
"You don't get it, but I won't make the same mistake that Gray did."
Juvia looked puzzled at what Natsu said. Natsu just grinned.
"His mistake is that he let you slip away. I won't."
--- To Be Continued ---
A/N: Hello! Updates will be late. And to those who are requesting for this to be a NaVia, I already decided that this will be a NaVia. Thank you for waiting and reading! 💕 And I just noticed yesterday that this ranked #1 in juvialockser tag. Thank you so much for showing interest and reading 💕💕 I can't thank you enough. 💕💕