Silence

18

The atmosphere of the room was warm and welcoming. Sounds of laughter came from many different sections of the room as glasses and metal clashed together. Sounds of moving chairs and chatting people blended in with the fresh smell of food, making my stomach growl.

I was sitting in between Jet and Gray. I was staring at my blank plate, receiving flashbacks about what happened at the beach and in the elevator. My cheeks flushed at the thought of what I said to all the girls. But what made my heart skip a beat was that Gray never really said anything about it. He never said I should've said anything else or said that he was going to say something even though he motioned for me to help.

He was just happy in the end.

The waitress came over to our table and placed three baskets of biscuits at our table, giving one of us a wink as she walked away. Gajeel's face flushed and he growled under his breath, so it was most likely directed towards him.

I stared at the tray of buttery, warm biscuits. My mouth began to water. But the master ordered us not to eat until he made a toast to Gray, which was probably going to be in an hour.

I looked over at my cup of water. Maybe I could fill up on it while I was waiting? Did water even fill up our stomachs? Besides, I wasn't really that thirsty.

I groaned. "Gramps? Can you please toast Gray? I'm starving!"

All eyes at the table came in my direction, except for Droy's, who was also looking at the master. He actually agreed with me.

"No Natsu, you have to be patient!" Makarov barked, making me shrink in my seat. Everyone laughed and I felt a sudden tap on my left shoulder. I turned around to see Gray smiling in another direction, trying to act like nothing was happening.

"Here," the raven whispered to me from the corner of his mouth. Under the table, he held a biscuit in his hand. It made me wonder how he got away with grabbing it? Without hesitation, I reached for it and shoved the whole thing in my mouth. My stomach began to feel less empty.

"This is way better than the original plan!" someone shouted at the other end of the table. A few people agreed while others began to sip on their drinks.

I waited patiently as the waitress came to take our orders. Making our food would probably take a lot of time since there was about twenty of us, maybe more or less.

"What would you like to order sir?" The woman asked Gray as he took a quick glance at his menu.

"Uh, can I have the avocado turkey panini with a side of garden salad?" Gray asked as the waitress nodded and wrote down his order.

"And you sir?"

I looked down at my menu with wide eyes, realizing I hadn't looked at my menu the entire time. And this was a fancy restaurant too, so I didn't want to order everything!

The steak looked really good, but then again, the grilled chicken sandwich also looked good. I groaned and placed both hands on my head. This was frustrating! The waitress gave off a nervous laugh.

"Just get him the same as me," Gray grumbled. The waitress nodded and went off to Jet.

I faced Gray's direction, only to glare at him. He wore an evil smirk. I wanted to wipe it off so bad, but it would come back over and over again. "Why did you order for me? I didn't want that!" I growled with frustration?

I rolled his eyes. "Idiot, because you couldn't choose one thing on the menu!" Gray whispered back so that we wouldn't earn weird looks from the elderly couple sitting behind us.

I crossed my arms and pouted to myself, listening in on the conversations around me. Apparently, Levy was having twins. Gajeel would flush every time he said the word. It was funny because the expression didn't go with his tough guy act. It was also funny to see Jet and Droy's reaction. I wish I could have been there when Levy announced that she was pregnaunt with Gajeel's kids, let alone knowing that they are twins! They will probably get used to it though.

The food had finally arrived after about an hour, or what felt like years! And I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but-

"Gray, you are amazing," I said, my mouth watering at the sight in front of me. I never imagined an avocado turkey panini looking so colorful! I never even knew what a panini was in the first place! He smirked and we both watched as everyone else got their plate of food. Most of the plates were browns and greens, some even had a few more colors, but mine and Gray's were the most colorful.

I couldn't stop staring at the dish sitting in front of me. The smell of the roasted red peppers and turkey together was amazing. And to top it off with some provolone cheese, spinach, and guacamole, it's just so beautiful.

I took a look at the garden salad. It was covered in tomatoes, carrots, cheese, bacon, croutons, cucumbers, and a small cup of ranch to pour on top.

I wanted to eat something so bad!

Makarov stood up from his chair, gaining some extra support from Laxus  by holding him underneath his arms and him clinking a spoon against his wine glass. Everyone looked in his direction. Gramps cleared his throat, seeming to have everyone's attention.

"I'm just gonna say how proud I am for Gray having found someone he will spend the rest of his life with," he paused, "and I'm surprised that you have grown and matured along the way, putting your childish ways in your past. Juvia has brought out the best in you, Gray Fullbuster."

A few people raised their glasses to that comment. Gray only smiled and nodded along. I tried my best to smile, but I was too focused on the looks of my food and my feelings to actually smile.

"I'm gonna be honest with you now. When you were younger, you always wanted to pick fights with Natsu. In fact, I thought you picked fights with Natsu so much that neither of you wouldn't have a future and would spend the rest of your days fighting."

I snorted at that. A few people smirked and laughed at that. It was the truth. And even though I may sound selfish, I always wanted it to be that way. Gray is my best friend, my partner, my rival, and my comrade. Everything I go through, he goes through with me, and I never want to loose that.

And the big question for me is, what would I do if he just left me all by myself?

I groaned and poked a finger at my panini, ready to eat.

"It was funny when Juvia came begging to me that she join the guild immediately. She said that the love of her life was in this guild and she would rather die than to not be with him. I thought she was crazy because she was with Phantom Lord, but let her join anyways." All eyes shifted to Gajeel, who was chewing on something. He looked around, not liking the attention. He then swallowed what he was eating.

"What happened?" Everyone laughed. Makarov rolled his eyes. Gray nudged my side, laughing and said, "That could've been you!" I smiled back and nodded.

Makarov clasped his hands together. "Alright, since some of you are starving," more forward to Gajeel, "I'm gonna wrap this up for Gray. In the end, you are like my child. I want the best for you. So, I want you to be happy. If you have any troubles or problems, just come to me and we can talk through it. I'm just so proud that my child is finally growing up!" Makarov said while wiping a few tears away.

Everyone clapped, including the people at other tables who have been listening in on the speech. I, surprisingly, even clapped at the speech. It was great. I had to agree with Gramps. As long as Gray was happy, I would be happy.

Everyone around Gray said their congratulations for the last time before the wedding next week. I placed my left hand on Gray's right shoulder.

"Congratulations Gray. You actually beat me at something," I said. Gray laughed and smiled. "Thanks Natsu."

Gray turned away and started smiling at everyone else, making me frown.

Why? The smile Gray wore was fake. I could tell by the way his eyes started to become more shiny. He was obviously not happy. And that smile was fooling everyone around him.

Everyone but me atleast...