Love At War | JeRza

Chapter Seventeen

Lucy's P.O.V.
"J-Juvia!" I exclaim as she folds her arms, her eyes on Jellal. I grab her wrist and make her sit on the bed next to Erza. "Listen, uh..." She crosses her legs and stares up at me.

"Juvia's listening," said Juvia, a angered tone in her voice. I'm too scared to talk and so is everyone else. Juvia stares at Gray and Meredy, "care to explain why HE would be here?" She asks, pointing at Jellal.

"Uh, well...um, you see, I... We... They..." Gray stammers before finally saying, "we're trying to find the person who stole the jewel because we hate this war and don't want this war. I don't know about Meredy, tho."

"Oh, yeah, I'm gonna help. I'm not gonna sit back this time!" Meredy smiles and looks at the scared Juvia. "J-Juvia?" Juvia's face expression is twisted between scared and shocked.

She stands up, her hands on her head, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IRENE WOULD DO IF SHE FOUND OUT!? SHE WOULD KILL YOU AND ERZA, TOO!" I bite my lip and look down. Natsu places his hand on my shoulder.

"W-we know," I whisper, "We're willing to take that risk, for Dragnof...for Fiore. For their bond." I glance at Erza and back at the even more shocked Juvia. "If Erza, Princess of the all-mighty Dragnof wants to stop this war, we'll do so too."

"Have you lost your minds!?" Juvia looks around at everyone, "excuse Juvia for her words, but this is probably the stupidest thing Erza has ever done!" Jellal sighs and looks down.

"We know!" Natsu yells at her. "We're going to stop the war, Juvia, we have to! Haven't you seen Dragnof? It's a mess! And so is Fiore, it's terrible. Irene loves to win, she'll never stop!"

"So does my grandfather," Jellal explains, looking up at us, "when he has his mind set on something, he won't stop until he reaches it. In this case, he wants to win. Who doesn't love to win? But now, I... We want peace."

"It's not that Juvia don't want peace, she does! What she don't want is her friends getting hurt! JUVIA IS WORRIED! Do you even have a plan?" I shake my head, "do you even know what to do next?" I shake my head again, "that's Juvia's point!"

"We're not gonna quit until we stop the war, Juvia!" Gray snaps, "there is nothing you can say to stop us from reaching our goal, you're wasting your time!" She has a hurt expression on her face, "we're not gonna stop trying!"

Tears well up in the Water Mage's eyes. I hold out my hand to hug her, "J-Juvia..." She pushes me away and sprints out of the door, leaving a trail of tears behind her. Meredy places her hands on her mouth, holding back her tears.

"Oh God..." Gray sits down and buries his face with his hands. Suddenly, Juvia stomps back in and stands close to Gray. I was about to hug her, to comfort her, but she pushes me away again.

"Gray," Did she just say Gray? Why not Gray-sama? Gray looks up when, suddenly, she slaps him a cross the face and leaves. We stare in shock at the red mark her hand left.

I am so shocked right now, more shocked then Gray is! Everyone sits in silence and shock, Gray doesn't budge. "What just happened...?" Natsu breaks the silence. Gray stares at his hands, wide-eyed.

"J-Juvia just slapped Gray..." Meredy replies. I glance at Jellal who is sitting in the back of the room on a chair. "And then she ran off..." Meredy sits down, "we're horrible..." Natsu, Gray, and I look down.

"You're right, she was just worried about us... We shouldn't have been so hard on her." I look up at Gray. I walk to him and grab his chin, make him look up, and back away, "Gray... Go get her."

Gray's P.O.V.
I have looked every where. The gardens, every room, the guard training center, the battlefield, EVERYWHERE! I can't find her what soever. I give up. I'm such a jerk, an idiot, I shouldn't have been so hard on her.

I sigh and sit down on the edge of the water fountain, "I'm sorry, Juvia..." I whisper, angry with myself. Someone places their hand on my shoulder. I look up and see her.

"It's okay... Juvia forgives you, Gray-sama." Juvia smiles. I look down. Suddenly, she makes me stand up and hugs me. At first I'm startled but then I hug her back. She squeezes me tighter and that's when I hear her sobbing. "Juvia's really sorry.. She was just worried for you, Juvia doesn't want anything happening to you.."

"It's okay, we understand. You didn't mean to be mean, Juvia, I understand... I should be the one apologizing." I pull away and look down at her tear-stained cheeks.

"Juvia forgives you, Gray-sama, it's fine!" She smiles. I look down, "Juvia know's what you mean, she wants to stop the war too... it would make her happy if you let her help you."

"The more the better." I look up at her. She kisses me on the cheek and begins walking away. Why do I have the sudden urge to... No! GRAY! GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!

Suddenly, it's as if I couldn't control my body, I grab her wrist, spin her around, cup her cheek with my hand, and kiss her. She's surprised at first but kisses back. What am I doing? For some reason, this doesn't feel wrong.

"Why?" You may ask. Because I love her, I've fallen in love with Juvia Lockser.

~❤️~