Frozen Over

Chapter 4

Juvia took another look in the mirror, making sure she looked perfect. She fluffed her hair once more, the perfect blue locks falling over her shoulders perfectly. She wore a white shirt with sleeves that went down to her elbows and black jean shorts. The outfit was casual yet dressy enough for a date.
"Juvia! He's here!" Meredy called from the living room.
The blunette took a last look in the mirror before shutting off the light in the bathroom. She walked into the living room, a smile on her face when seeing the dark-haired male standing with his hands in his pockets.
"Hi," she greeted, smiling up at the male.
Gray awkwardly waved to her before saying, "Hi. Ready to go?"
Juvia nodded, slipping on her black flip-flops that sat on the rug next to the door.
"Don't get to crazy, kids," Meredy called from the bedroom. "We don't have room for a baby here, Juvia."
Juvia's face became a light shade of red, her blue eyes darting from the floor to Gray's face.
A smile had come to the male's face, and he was silently laughing at what the girl had said.
Juvia's surprised face turned into a smile, and she giggled along with him.
Gray opened the door, which Juvia exited gracefully with Gray behind her.
"I mean it!"
〈・・・・・・〉
"You have quite the roommate," Gray commented while they drove down the road, his eyes averting to Juvia.
"You could say that. She's a real burden sometimes," Juvia replied, keeping her eyes forward. She watched the yellow line disappear under the car as they progressed down the road. "But she's like my sister."
Gray nodded, turning his own head back towards the road. "Kinda like me and Natsu."
"How long have you known him? You too seem exceptionally close," Juvia commented, turning to look at Gray.
"My whole life," the male said, shrugging. "Our parents are good friends. I was born only a month before Natsu was. Our parents always hung out which led to us being forced to."
Juvia nodded as he explained, looking down at her hands in her lap. "What else should I know? What about Erza?"
"Natsu and I met Erza in first grade. She was so quiet, distant. No one liked her, and everyone thought Natsu and I were crazy. We took a liking to her. Look at her now. She's the most popular girl in our school."
It made Juvia happy, hearing about his past. She wanted to know more about him, and he was willing to tell her more. "What about Lucy?" She asked, not looking up.
"Lucy is a totally different story. Lucy came to our school when we were freshmen. Everyone liked her, and she liked everyone. Everyone except Natsu. Natsu picked on her nonstop," Gray said. He chuckled before continuing. "I guess it was the immature way of telling her he liked her. Natsu and Lucy have been together ever since. Lucy was just brought into our group and ended up being really cool."
Juvia giggled.
Gray turned to look at her before saying, "What about you?"
"What about me?" Juvia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"How'd you meet Meredy and that guy that took you home from the party? Must be a story there. What your whole story?"
Gray knew better than to pry. If she didn't want to tell him, he wouldn't force her.
But Juvia took a deep breath before saying, "I've lived with Meredy and Gajeel ever since I was five. I lived in an orphanage, never knew my parents. Gajeel came when I was two and was like a big brother to me. He had lived with his father until one day he disappeared and never came back. Meredy came when I was five. Her parents had died when their whole town was destroyed by some fire. She was the only survivor and was scared of everything."
Juvia sighed before continuing, "I use to get picked on a lot. I wasn't smart or pretty or outgoing. I was Juvia, a shy and stupid orphan who's parents hadn't loved her."
Gray looked back to Juvia. Her head was bent, and she no longer had the cheerful look she always had.
"No one was my friend. I only had Gajeel and Meredy, the only two who ever cared about me," Juvia said, her voice beginning to quiver. She felt a single tear fall down her face.
"It got really bad." Juvia's voice had gone down in volumn, almost a whisper. "When I was fourteen, I tried to hurt myself. I took a lot of pills. I didn't think anyone cared about me. Luckily, Meredy found me, and I woke up in the hospital a few days later."
They were silent for a moment before Gray reach over the grab a hand that sat in her lap.
"I care about. You're not just Juvia, a shy and stupid orphan who's parents hadn't loved her. You're Juvia, the most beautiful and amazing person I have ever met. You are Juvia, the girl I'm slowly falling for every time I see her or listen to her speak," Gray told her, letting go of her hand to brush a stray hair from her face and wipe away a tear.
He's the one. I love him.
Those were the only words that came into Juvia's mind.
Gray gave her a smile as he pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley. He parked the car, clicking off his seatbelt.
"I won't let you forget it either, Juvia. Because I'll be the one to remind you every time," Gray told her, leaning over and gently kissing her cheek before exiting the car.
〈・・・・・・〉
The couple entered the bowling alley holding hands, Juvia's smile back on her face, and Gray's normal smirk on his.
Natsu and Lucy weren't hard to spot. They stood near the front counter, arguing about something that later would mean nothing.
Lucy looked up from the argument, spotting the couple near the door. She gave a large wave, a smile coming to her face at the sight of them holding hands.
"Juvia! Gray! Over here," she called, motioning for them to come over.
The two followed orders, walking over to the counter hand-in-hand.
"Hi, Lucy," Juvia greeted as they reached the blonde.
Lucy pulled Juvia in for an embrace, pulling her hand out of Gray's at the same time.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" Lucy said, pulling back from the embrace as the males payed for the lane.
"Couldn't miss this. I'm glad we'll have time to hang out," the bluenette said, giggling.
"Me too!" Lucy exclaimed, waving to Natsu and Gray as they walked back.
Each male held two pink pieces of papers in their hand. Natsu draped his arm around Lucy's shoulders, kissing her on the cheek as he did. Gray walked back over to Juvia, handing one of the papers to her.
The teenagers proceeded to get their shoes then went down to the lane which they were assigned.
"Me and Lucy against you and Juvia," Natsu said, smirking down at Gray who sat tying his shoes.
Gray smirked back up at Natsu, standing up as he finished. "You're on, Bastard."
"Just don't be sad when we beat your asses, Princess," Natsu said, biting his lip while the two continued to have a stare down.
"I think," Lucy interrupted, stepping in between the two, "it should be Juvia and I against you two."
Juvia walked up behind Lucy and crossed her arms with a smirk. "I'm with Lucy on this one. I'm almost positive we could kick your asses."
"Fiesty," Natsu said, the smirk remaining on his face. "All right. If we win, you two have to go and buy us beer from the store in your underwear."
Lucy laughed.
"If we win, you two have to streak around the block," Lucy said, defiantly crossing her arms.
"Deal," Natsu said, holding his hand to Lucy which she took and shook roughly. He pulled her closer to him before whispering, "I can't wait to see you getting me beer in your underwear."
Lucy laughed again before saying, "And I can wait to see your naked butt as you run down the street." She let go of his hand, turning and walking back to the booth next to their lane.
Gray walked up to Juvia, holding his hand out to her. "Good luck. You'll need it."
Juvia quickly took it, shaking it.
"You're the one who'll need the luck. Especially for tonight," Juvia said, winking before walking back to the booth, sitting next to Lucy.
〈・・・・・・〉
"How did this happen?" Natsu whimpered, laying face down on booth. "How did we lose?"
Lucy patted his hair with a large smirk on her face.
"You're not going to make me run naked, are you?" Gray asked, looking down to Juvia with large eyes.
Juvia smirked before standing on her tip-toes and whispering, "Hopefully I like what I see." She then swatted his butt before returning to the booth.
The teenagers took off their shoes and payed for the food and drinks they had had while bowling. They went outside, the females sitting on the curb.
"Take off your clothes already!" Lucy screamed at the two males who stood in front of them nervously.
The males sighed but did as they were told. Natsu began with his pants, covering himself as the cold air hit his skin. Gray started with his shirt, copying Natsu's move as the cold air hit his skin as well.
"Ready! Set!" Lucy began, turning to look at Juvia with a large smile.
"Go!" The bluenette screamed which set the two males off running.
At first, they kept themselves covered, but as they progressed, they soon pumped their arms so they could run faster.
The males made it back in five minutes, each of them covering themselves again as soon as they were in sight of the girls. They rushed to put their clothes back on, Lucy and Juvia laughing the whole time they did.
〈・・・・・・〉
"Was it really that bad?" Juvia asked, still giggling as Gray entered the car.
Gray looked at her, a fake frown on his face as he did.
"Oh, come on!" Juvia said, smiling as she tugged at his arm. She then stopped and lean her head on his shoulder. "You looked good," she told him with a smirk.
Gray rolled his eyes, his smirk returning to his face.
The bluenette kissed his cheek before sitting back normally in her seat.
"You had fun, didn't you?" Gray asked, turning to look at her as he pulled on the road toward Juvia's apartment.
Juvia smiled and nodded. "I did. Thank you," she said, taking his hand in her own.
"I'm glad. Hopefully we can do it again sometime."
Juvia raised an eyebrow.
"Are you, Gray Fullbuster, asking me on another date?"
"Maybe."
Juvia shook her head with a smile. She was happy with him. She was truly happy, for the first time in a long time.
"Gray?"
The black-haired male turned to look at her. "Hmm?"
"Don't ever leave me. Please, never leave me."
Gray's eyes got large, but he merely nodded his head. He squeezed the hand he held, bringing it up to his mouth to gently kiss it.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Why?"
"How could I? I'm over here falling in love with you."

AUTHOR NOTE: The next chapter is out and I love it! OMG they are so cute and I'm in love. Not a very long chapter, but I'm happy to be getting chapters out. Please leave a comment and a favorite! Love you all! ❤️