Frozen Over

Chapter 8

Juvia climbed out of the car, pulling down her dress as she stood. The short thing rode up on her when she sat for a period of time, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. 

'Thanks for recommending this, Meredy,' she thought to herself, as her mind shifted from her dress to Gray.

He climbed out of the car, running his hand through his hair and locking the car. He wore an white button-up shirt that was bare in the middle, showing his chest and abs. Just the sight of it made Juvia's heart skip a beat and her breathing stop for a moment. He wore generic black skinny jeans, black high-top Converse, and a black fedora to top everything off. He was a mix of all cliques. The cool kids, the hipsters, and a little bit of the nerds all mixed into one completely described him. 

Juvia quickly scampered over to Gray's side, taking his hand into her own with a smile. 

Gray looked down at her with his lopsided smile, then letting his eyes wander around the lot. No body was outside the house, and there weren't as many cars as usual. It was odd. 

"Can we go inside?"

Juvia's voice shot Gray out of his trance, and he again looked down at her with his dark eyes. 

"Uh, yeah. Let's go," Gray said, going ahead first and dragging Juvia along behind him. 

The two entered Jellal's house but weren't greeted by the usual loud music that came blaring at them. Instead, they were greeted by the obnoxious laugh only Natsu could possess. Gray continued to pull Juvia along until they reached Jellal's living room that now was empty, only full of close friends.

Gray raised an eyebrow before letting go of Juvia's hand and saying to himself, "Never been to one of these before."

He took a seat on one of the couches, sitting close to the armrest which Juvia then sat on. Her arm went behind his head, her hand messing with the ends of his soft black hair. 

Erza gave them a large smile before saying, "I'm glad you two could come!" She was sitting on Jellal's lap, looking as bright and happy as ever. Jellal leaned back on the couch, his hands behind his head. He looked bored out of his mind, but there was no way he'd ever tell Erza that. 

"I thought we were having a party?" Gray asked, looking at the few people that sat in the living room.

Natsu sat on the floor, leaning against one of the couches. His pink hair sat in a puffball on his head, and he wore a graphic tee with plain blue jeans. His normal, large smirk remained on his face as he looked around the room, his dark eyes looking from Gray then resting on Erza. 

"This is the party," he announced, draping his arm around Lucy and pulling her close. "Just not one we're used to."

Gray raised an eyebrow and let his eyes wander to each person's face. Everyone seemed to be having fun, even if Jellal did look a little bored. Juvia even had a smile on her face as she looked at everyone.

Finally, Gray shook his head with a smile and asked, "What are we going to do first?"

〈・・・・〉

Laughter filled the house as the group of friends sat around in a circle on the floor. They had pushed the couches against the wall to make more room on the ground to be closer together. They each had a drink in their hands, and at least two cases of beer sat empty on the floor with a third open next to it. 

"Okay, okay, my turn," Erza said, quieting down the laughing with her voice and a smile. Unlike the others, she wasn't drunk at all. She instead held a water in her hand. "Never have I ever..... Made out with a stranger."