Frozen in Time || Gruvia Fanfiction ✓

Chapter 2

~~~ Gray ~~~

    The Fairy Tail guild hall was magnificent.  In fact, the place resembled that of a castle; equipped with a bell tower, a gated front entrance, and a massive banner hung on the building emblazoned with the Fairy Tail emblem.  Many wizards called Fairy Tail their home, Gray included.

  Natsu burst through the massive wooden double doors of the guild, Gray not far behind.  Natsu eagerly looked around, obviously trying to see who was around to fight.  He had seemingly forgot about Gray's existence, leaving Gray enough time to slip away from the hot-headed wizard.  He really wasn't in the mood to butt heads with Natsu this morning.

  As Gray walked in between the many tables towards the bar area, he noticed how many people were present in the guild hall.  The numerous benches were almost already full with wizards, which he thought was odd this early in the morning. 

  Just as Gray managed to slip through the crowd and make it to the bar, he heard a few familiar voices call out to him.  He lifted his head and saw Lucy Heartfilia and Wendy Marvell perched on two bar stools facing Mirajane Strauss.  The trio waved to him, but he simply nodded in their direction and sat down at the opposite end of the bar.  Gray set his elbows on the polished counter top and put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his black hair.  In an instant, Mira was standing before him from behind the bar.

  "How are you this morning, Gray?" She asked with a warm smile.  Mira was wearing her usual maroon dress, and as always her bangs were tied up above her forehead with the rest of her hair falling to her waist.  Mira was an incredibly strong wizard as well, although she tried not to use her Take Over magic.  It was for this reason that she worked as the guild's barmaid, as well as keeping track of the jobs that the wizards took.

  "Fine," Gray replied shortly.  He regretted being rude to Mira, especially when she was easily the nicest person in the guild.  But she was used to this behavior by now, having known Gray since they were small children. 

  Mira nodded and started cleaning some of the cups from behind the bar with a rag.  "If you want anything let me know.  Also, there are some new job requests if you're interested in checking them out later."  She sent another small smile his way before going back to take up conversation with Lucy and Wendy again. 

~~~~~~

  Gray didn't know how long he sat at the counter before a brawl broke out.  It couldn't have been too long, knowing this guild and the wizards in it.  It started when Natsu broke one of the benches that Cana Alberona, Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker, happened to be sitting on.  Her barrel of booze toppled over and spilled everywhere.  Gray looked over his shoulder just in time to see her eyes gleam dangerously as she drew her magic cards.

  "What the heck was that for Natsu?" She shouted at him.  "You need to simmer down and face the consequences!"

  It was rare for Cana to involve herself in the daily fights that took place in the guild hall.  Usually she could be seen at the bar tuning out the noise by downing a couple gallons.  It was for that reason that Natsu was caught off guard.

  "I didn't mean to, it was an accident!"  He insisted.

  Gray rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where this was headed.  Cana furiously threw out a card that flew right at Natsu and exploded on contact, right on his chest.  Natsu toppled into the back wall, but he was up again in an instant.

  "Oh so you want to play that way, huh?"  Natsu asked the enraged brunette.  Fire engulfed both his fists as he ran at Cana.  But before Natsu could knock her out, a monster's enormous fist came out of nowhere and punched Natsu in the side.  Again, he was thrown into the opposite wall.  Gray looked in the direction of the attack and saw Elfman, Mira's little brother, standing in the form of a massive horned demon.  Elfman was a huge guy as it was.  He stood several feet taller than the other members; add in a stitched scar to the right side of his face and the guy was pretty menacing.  He had the same white hair as Mira and used Take Over magic like she did, but that was where the similarities stopped.

  His Take Over magic disappeared and Elfman returned to his normal self, much to the relief of Gray. "Natsu, didn't anyone ever tell you not to hit a -" Elfman started, but his sentence was cut off by Natsu yelling," Fire Dragon Roar!" 

  Fire erupted from Natsu's mouth and hit Elfman directly.  Before Gray could even blink just about everyone currently in the guild hall had joined the fight.  The girls at the other end of the counter managed to stay out of it, but that didn't stop Lucy from shouting obscenities at Natsu for ruining her peaceful morning.

  On other days Gray would have joined in to release some energy, but that was something he lacked in the moment.  So when one of the tables came flying in his direction, Gray didn't have time to react and cast one of his spells.  He braced himself, but then heard a feminine voice yell," Water Slicer!"  Several blades made entirely of water whizzed past Gray's head and immediately the table splintered and fell to the ground.  Gray turned in the direction the attack had came from and saw Juvia Lockser making her way over to him.  Gray looked at her for only a moment before turning his attention back to the fight.

  "Gray, are you unharmed?" Juvia asked worriedly as she came up next to him.

  Gray turned his attention back to the chaos unfolding before him.  "Yes, I'm fine.  Thanks."

Juvia took a seat at the bar stool next to him after a moment of silence.  "Gray, are you sure you're alright? Do you-"

  Gray slammed his fist down on the counter and stood.  He looked down and saw that he had not only cracked the counter top, but in his fit of anger he had froze the spot as well.  Mira, Lucy, and Wendy all looked over at Gray in alarm from the other end.

  "I said I'm alright!  Leave me alone, would you?"  Gray hissed to Juvia.  He left the bar area and made for the front doors of the guild, and none of the others noticed him leave amid the noise and fighting.

~~~ Juvia ~~~

  Juvia sat still as if stuck to the spot.  She stared at the frozen patch on the counter, tears obscuring the corners of her vision.  Mira left her place behind the bar and took a seat next to Juvia.

  "Don't take it personally, Juvia.  Gray has always been like this.  He has blocked out the world," Mira said, trying to comfort the wizard.

  "But why?" Juvia asked, a few tears escaping her eyes and sliding down her face.  "I...  I don't understand.  All I did was make sure he was okay."

  Mira gave a sad sigh, and opened her mouth to reply when a voice cut in.

  "It's about time you knew, Juvia.  Although I suppose it is not my story to tell."

  Juvia and Mira looked up and gazed into the fierce, brown eyes of Erza Scarlet.