Silence

Prologue

As embarrassing as it is to admit this aloud, I was terrified just standing in the same atmosphere as my opponent. The young ice mage Gray Fullbuster looked at me with determined eyes and furrowed brows, planning his next possible move. It was time to figure out who was the better between the two of us.

He was sweaty, covered in dust from the ground, gathering his breath as he moved a hand to his chest before dropping both arms down to his sides. It was obvious he was attemting to calm himself. I was on edge, listening to our surroundings and waiting for his next move. All I could hear was the roaring water from the river beside us, the whistling from the quick winds, and my own breathing as I attempted to calm myself down. We were standing under the moon's spotlight, the main attraction in a quiet picture.

"I-I'm not done with you, Pinky!" Gray shouted ferociously. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees, gasping for air. He clenched his fists and fell to one knee. "It's not over!"

My eyes widened. I felt a tingle inside of me, thinking about forfeiting before anyone could get seriously hurt. He was obviously struggling before my eyes, maybe even suffering from a possible injury. This was a controllable situation, to just step forward and give him a win that he just might be satisfied with—which was impossible. Despite that, I was glad he wanted to continue. A smile grew upon my lips at his inspiring determination. We both knew this fight wasn't over. It never was going to be.

My heart began to race when he stood up straight again. I could hear his heart rate decrease, and it was obvious to me that he was starting to relax. I watched in amusement, unable to calm myself down. The smile on my lips grew, and pure excitement filled my mind. I could hardly breathe, my heart was racing so fast that it could have burst out of my chest. Suddenly, he was moving. I was so dizzy that I couldn't prepare myself whatsoever. Things happened in a flash, so fast that I couldn't recall the final hit.

And then, I realized, I had lost the fight. It came to me when I saw the world spinning, and then my body finally hit the ground.

Gray had kicked me right in my chest, and it knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't breathe. I was gasping for air while Gray stood and watched me. He was shocked.

I gasped and coughed repeatedly, trying to get some air in my lungs. My heart raced rapidly, and my excitement was no more. I was panicking. It had happened out of no where, and my body was going through a state of shock. "H-Help!" I coughed out, reaching a hand out so that Gray could help me up. He was standing above me, staring blankly. It seemed as though he couldn't believe what was actually happening before him. Luckily, I was able to calm myself down on my own. I sat up, leaning back against my arms so that I could look up at him. I couldn't ignore the sudden worry I felt for him. "Gray?" I called.

He snapped out of shock, shaking his head and meeting my own gaze. His eyes were glistening and wide with concern. He knelt down next to me and wrapped my left arm around his shoulders. I looked up at him and noticed a few too many tears run down his face.

"Gray?" I repeated.

"I'm so . . . so sorry Natsu. I had no idea why I did that. I just felt like I had to win. Please, let's just pretend this fight never happened?"

I was speechless. Gray Fullbuster had apologized for winning. This was his chance to finally take the crown after all this time of constant arguing, and he wanted to forget about it? I was astounded.

He supported me as I limped during our walk home. It got to a point where I was annoyed because he was too cold, and I told him that I could continue to walk on my own. Gray nodded and let me go. We both made our way to the guild hall from there, walking side by side in complete silence. I began to wonder about what he might have been thinking throughout the fight, including its final moments. I assumed he was stoked that he won, but at the same time I felt terrible because he was upset when he hurt me. I would be better off knowing what he was really thinking instead of just assuming. Who knows, maybe he wants to know what I'm thinking, too?

The sight of the guild hall broke the silence, and Gray looked at me and asked, "Race ya to the guild?"

There was no way I could decline. I had to show him who was boss after he took me out by the river. I was glad he wanted to push it behind us. I smiled at him and nodded. He looked back at the guild hall with determination. "Okay. Three . . . Two . . ."

"One!" I shouted and sprinted off. I was laughing during the beginning of the race, ignoring the pain I felt in my leg. I looked back and saw that he was speechless.

"H-hey! That's not fair, you idiot!" But he was already chasing after me. We both then began to laugh as he caught up to me. It was perfect, and it was the most fun I had in a while. This day was one of my favorite days.

These are memories I like to think about all the time—the good ones, and sometimes the bad ones—because they shaped my character. This exact day motivates me. It motivates me because I know that times like this are scarce because Gray was drifting away, and I didn't want to speak up about it.

I was sitting in silence.