Compulsive

Chapter 25

Lucy and Natsu were awoken suddenly the next morning by a loud knock on their hotel room door. Natsu groaned, stuffing his face in the pillow; Lucy stumbled out of bed, letting out a whine as she slowly made her way to the door. The knocks continued, getting heavier and louder.

Lucy tugged the door open, about to make a witty comment about how early it was. The second she saw the person behind the door, she paused. Gajeel. And his face was different—his expression was twisted up into something he so rarely showed to anyone: fear.

Lucy's mouth opened, but no words came out. Something was happening—why else would Gajeel look so...terrified?

His dark eyes were big. "Group meeting in Juvia's hotel room—now." He paused, taking the time to swallow; Lucy could see his adam's apple bob in his throat. After a couple long seconds, he whispered, "It's Mira."

Lucy's heart jumped. Mira? Was something wrong with her? Was she okay? So many thoughts ran through her mind, jumping to the worst conclusions. Gajeel gave her a nod and headed down the hallway towards Juvia's room; Lucy spun, quickly heading back to the bed.

"Natsu—up, now!"

The pink haired boy jumped awake, confused and irritated. "Eh?"

"It's Mira," Lucy hissed, heading over to her bag of clothes and grabbing the first thing she could find that weren't pajamas. "Group meeting in Juvia's room. Urgent. We have to go!"

Without a word, Natsu chucked the blankets off of him and grabbed a t-shirt off the ground, tugging it on quickly. His expression crumbled into one of absolute concern. He'd always been particularly messed up about Mira's situation, considering he was the boy afraid of death and it was the first time he'd nearly lost someone he considered a pal. Any hint of the cheerfulness and light that made Natsu himself was absolutely gone, smoldered out by fear and anxiety.

Lucy felt like crying. She wasn't sure why. Why was her gut feeling that something bad had happened?

They quickly sped over to Juvia's room, where the rest of the group had been waiting. Everyone looked anxious and worried; no one had any idea of what the news was yet. Juvia had wanted to wait until she could tell everyone, all at once.

Natsu and Lucy shuffled in, taking a seat on the edge of the puffy bed; the rest of the teens were scattered throughout the room. Gajeel sat at the desk, biting his nails; Erza was pacing the floor; Laxus was staring out the window at the hazy sky. Everyone else was equally upset, afraid of what they might here.

"Okay, guys," Juvia said, huffing out a breath. "I've got some news. Got the call this morning." She took a long break, watching everyone's expressions carefully. "Mira's woken up from her coma."

At first, the room was dead silent. After a few seconds, everyone's faces burst into grins, expressions of happiness and relief. They all began to speak, murmuring how happy they were, how this was great news.

Juvia let out another breath. "She's in rough shape, everyone," The counsellor said, voice hard. She was trying to hide how upset she was. "They don't know if she will make it. But, for now, she is awake. She can speak a little, and she understands what happened to her. But things aren't looking good."

Silence, yet again.

"How can this be?" Erza asked, eyes wide. "What's wrong with her?"

Juvia sighed. "I don't know all of the details, but her bulimia and anorexia has severely destroyed her organs. Liver, heart, lungs...they're in rough shape. Starting to fail. She's on treatment and dialysis right now, but they don't know if it's enough."