MEANT TO BE | GRUVIA

22

Jennifer pulled into Gray's driveway. She blared the horn. His whole family came running out. Jennifer handed them the trophy. She got a one, too, so Gray could take his home.

"This is great!" Ur said, admiring the metal object. Her smile fell when she saw Gray get out of the truck. His foot was in a cast. His ankle wasn't broken, but he wasn't suppose to move or put pressure on it for a few days. Juvia handed him crutches.

"What happened?" Wendy asked. She had a few tears in her eyes. She ran over and hugged her brother.

"It's alright," Gray said.

"You're face," she cried. "It's all puffy."

"Marshmallows are cool, right?" he asked. She giggled and wiped her face.

"Anything happen?" Ultear asked, nudging Juvia. She was well aware that she shared a room alone with Gray.

"Gray made it very awkward," she sighed. Ultear laughed.

"Let's all go out for dinner to celebrate," Ur suggested.

X

"This is stupid," Juvia mumbled. She aggressively cleaned the window of the dojo. Since they got back from the competition on Saturday, her cleaning day was moved to Sunday.

"At least I'm here, right?" Gray asked. He moved a chair beside Juvia so he was a bit closer.

"Why don't you have a cigarette?" he asked. He pulled one from his pocket and waved it in the air.

"Asshole," she snapped. He bought those just to tease her.

Levy walked past the window. Juvia happily waved her inside. She threw the rag at Gray.

Ding!

"Juvia, I have a surprise for you!" Levy said excitedly. She waved towards the window.

Ding!

Four boys stepped inside. They all had their hoods up, so Juvia couldn't tell who they were. When they dropped the cloth, she gasped.

"C-C-Ciel?" she stuttered.

"In the flesh," he said. He looked her up and down. "You've grown." He looked back to her face and smiled.

"You guys!" she cried. She jumped into Ciel's arms. "I can't believe you are here!"

"We're the new students you've heard about," Kyo said. Juvia smiled happily and hugged Ciel tighter. Levy was happy that she could reunite old friends.

"I missed you so much," Ciel said.

"I missed you to!" Juvia cried.

Then the unimaginable happen.

Ciel pulled away from Juvia and kissed her. She didn't even fully register what was happening before she kissed him back.

Levy felt a pang in her chest. He loved her, so why wouldn't he kiss her? She never told him that she was dating Gray. But Juvia wasn't stopping him, either.

It finally clicked in Juvia's mind. She separated herself from Ciel. Instead of saying anything, she moved behind him and pulled the other three into a hug.

"Juvia?" Ciel asked. The blonde turned to face him. "You're clothes," he said. "You don't dress the same."

Levy felt a small victory. She knew that he would find her different. She wasn't sure if that would change anything, though.

"I needed a change," she said. "Ciel, you left me. You all did. I can't forgive you for that."

"What?" the four boys asked at once. She needed a change after they left her. They all felt awful.

"But I can move past it," she said. She smiled brightly at them. They all smiled and hugged her.

"J-Juvia," Gray said, finally finding his words. The all looked over to him. Juvia forgot that he was there, and everyone else didn't even know he was there to begin with.

"Whoa, is your ankle okay?" Rin asked. He heard that he went to a fighting competition, but he didn't think he would get seriously injured.

"It's fine," Gray said through grit teeth. "I have a question for you guys."

"What's up?" Kyo asked.

"Do you always kiss people's girlfriends?" he asked. He didn't even bother sounding nice about it.

"What?" Ciel hissed. He looked to Juvia. "You're dating Gray?" The guy was nice and all, but he didn't know if he could accept it.

"Is there a problem?" Gray asked, standing up. He didn't seem quite as threatening with crutches, but Ciel did get in his face.

"You bet there is," he hissed.

"How is cleaning going?" Jennifer asked, walking down the stairs. She noticed the tense air. She then saw Gray and Ciel. "What's going on?" she asked quickly.

"M-mom!" Juvia stuttered. Gray flinched and took a step back. Jennifer wouldn't be happy with him almost fighting with someone.

"Sorry, we were just leaving," Kyo quickly said. Yuki and Rin grabbed Ciel and took him outside. Kyo quickly followed.

"I should be leaving as well," Levy awkwardly said. She quickly left the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Juvia yelled.

"Him!" Gray yelled back.

"He did nothing wrong!"

"He kissed you!"

"He didn't know!"

"But you did! You didn't even stop him!"

"I haven't seen him in two years!"

"That doesn't mean you kiss him!"

"He kissed me! I didn't kiss him!"

"But you still kissed him back!"

"Was I suppose to slap him?! What did you want me to do?!"

"Tell him you have a boyfriend!"

"I would have been lying!" Her eyes widened for a moment. She clenched her fists and ran out into the streets.