He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (GrayLu)

Chapter 29:

Levy's POV:

When we got back outside, the guards kept their respective distance again.

We started brainstorming what we should do out here before having to go back inside to eat and sleep again.

Then, Sting got the idea of the boys carrying their mates, and they would all have a race. They would ask some of the guards if they could participate so Juvia, Lisanna, Meredy, and Wendy could join the race too. Ultear wanted to decide the winner, and Jellal would be Erza's partner because Erza's competitive side showed when Sting said the word "race."

Gajeel immediately picked me up and put me on his shoulders, saying we would obviously win because I was so light. I'm not sure whether that was a compliment or not, because he called me that silly nickname again.

The guards agreed to help the girls. Juvia was partnered with a guy named James, Meredy with a guy named Ryan, Lisanna with a guy named Tatsumi, and two of the guards didn't really want to, so Doranbolt volunteered to be Wendy's partner. He said he saw Wendy as a kind of daughter he needed to protect ever since the S class trials, and this would be the perfect thing to help them bond. He obviously wanted her to be more comfortable around him.

Wendy smiled at him and got very excited to be in a race. She said she had never really been in one before.

"Then we will make sure to win!" Doranbolt said, with a hint of determination in his voice. She laughed and we all got in a line, with our partners on their shoulders. The two guards who didn't want to participate stood on either side of Ultear, as she started the race.

The boys ran, with the girls cheering them on. Wendy was giggling at how fast her and Doranbolt were going. Gajeel ran up next to him, and Wendy and I high fived. Gray, with Lucy on his shoulders, ran up on the other side of Gajeel. Lucy, Wendy, and I grabbed each other's hands and held our arms up, laughing and having fun.

We caught sight of Jellal and Erza passing us, with Sting and Yukino not far behind them. The three of us got a competitive look on our faces, let go of each other, and shouted, "May the best team win," and off we went. We did a few laps since the garden was medium sized. Lucy and Gray ended up winning the race, with Gajeel and I in second, while Wendy and Doranbolt tied with Laxus and Mira for third place, Erza and Jellal came fourth, with Sting and Yukino directly behind them. Rogue and Kagura, Juvia and James, Meredy and Ryan, and Lisanna and Tatsumi crossed the finish mark behind us.

The guards were panting, but they were against powered up slayers and a guy that was trained by the council to be fast for undercover and recon missions, so we couldn't really blame them for trying to keep up. Juvia, Meredy, and Lisanna got off of their shoulders and patted their backs, asking if they were okay. The guards nodded, and sat down while Juvia handed them some water.

Doranbolt walked over and laughed. "This is why we should never skip training, okay men?" They nodded and said "yes sir, lesson learned," in unison while gulping down multiple cups of water.

After they regained their strength, they went back to their guard duty, and the two guards that were near Ultear joined the three back in their original spot, while Doranbolt said bye to Wendy and went off to train some of the rookies they had.

After talking about random things and making interesting conversation with their guards, they went back inside to eat and sleep. And for all of that time, Laxus never put Mira down until he dropped her off on a chair so she could eat. He then picked her back up after eating and carried her to her room, where she fell asleep. Me and Lucy quietly laughed at how determined Laxus was to keep his promise of carrying her for the rest of the day. We also talked about the small smile we saw on her face when Laxus first put her on his shoulders. We finally had something to tease her about. We all went back to our rooms to sleep.

Erza's POV:

I woke up in the morning and got dressed. Surprisingly, Lucy, Mira, and Lisanna were already up.

"We are not going to be woken up by pans in the morning if we have anything to say about it." Said Lis.

"But feel free to wake the others up with them." Lucy said, smiling evilly.

Mira and Lisanna laughed. These girls understand me so well. I once again retrieved my trusty pans and went into each room, banging them and giving my guildmates a rude awakening. I would feel bad if I woke up Mr. Yajima so I didn't bother to do this to him too.

Everyone groaned and got up, taking showers and getting dressed while Lucy and Lisanna helped Mira cook some breakfast. Mira wanted to give the cooks a break, especially when they would have to make a lot of food to feed those slayers, so she volunteered to take care of breakfast, and the girls volunteered to help her cook.

We all sat around the table as Lucy brought out plates of pancakes, Lisanna had plates of bacon and sausage, and Mira had pitchers of orange juice, milk, and water. She also went back into the kitchen to get Lucy her strawberry milkshake. That girl just can't live a day without her daily dose of strawberry.

Neither can I, actually. I thought as Mira also came back with my daily breakfast of strawberry cake.

Since those three made the food, they served themselves first. It was common courtesy after all, because they put hard work into it. I've always loved Mira's cooking, and I love the food and tea Lucy makes whenever I come over to her apartment. Lisanna's food also tastes delicious, and when all three of them make food together, it's bound to be the best thing ever!

After we ate, Doranbolt came by and said he was training the newbies to work on their magic, and offered for us to watch or be part of the lesson since we were professionals. We accepted and headed over to the training grounds, where 9 men and women were lined up, waiting for us.