Frost

3

Saturday - One week before . . .

Gray didn't know how to explain his situation. On Saturday, he walked to the laundromat, put his clothes in a washer, went to the grocery store, walked home to put his groceries away, went back to the laundromat, put his clothes in a dryer, walked to the guild to hang out, back to the laundromat to pick up his clothes, went home and hung his clothes up, went back to the guild, partied, and went home late that night. He didn't change out of his current set of clothes, for he was too drunk and tired after walking ten minutes to his apartment.

And then he woke up without a hangover.

Gray rubbed his eyes and found himself lying on top of his blanket. The first thing he did was walk to the bathroom. He was surprised that he was actually able to get up that morning. However, when he reached for the light, he could not turn it on. He could feel it, but the switch wouldn't move. Using the natural light from the bathroom window, he checked himself out in the mirror. That was the very moment when Gray began to lose his mind. Not only could he not see himself in the mirror, but he couldn't feel himself. He could feel the switch, but not himself. It was like he no longer existed or something, and it made him panick.

Gray ran to the guild hall. It was the first thing that came to mind. The ice mage ran as fast as he could, up until he reached the guild doors. Gray was used to pushing them opened, but he just couldn't. "Hello!?" Gray called. He assumed that no one could hear him.

Gray waited for what felt like forever. None of his guild mates have shown up. But after a few more moments, he noticed a groggy Natsu, who was grunting with every step he took. Happy flew close beside him, saying, "I told you you shouldn't have drank that much! Now you look like a living zombie!"

"Ah, shut up cat. I'm just tired," Natsu grumbled while pushing the guild doors open. Gray was able to slip inside after the dragon slayer. The guild hall was quiet. The only noise was the sound of Mirajane humming. Gray immediately ran away from Natsu and made his way over to Mira. He tried desperately to get her attention.

"Mira! Mira, please!" She didn't even budge. The only reaction he got was a shiver. The silver haired woman looked around the room before questioning herself. "Is it just me, or did it get cold in here?"

"I think I'm gonna agree with you on that one," Cana mumbled. She was only wearing her bikini top with some pants, and Mirajane rolled her eyes at the brunette. Gray wasn't surprised that Cana didn't have a hangover. Compared to the other guild members, however, she seemed more lively than ever.

The girls began to converse about problems, and Mirajane decided she would light a candle for heat. Gray soon realized the cold source was coming from him, so he walked away from the two girls. He didn't want them to get too cold.

"Natsu?" The dragon slayer was sleeping. Happy was nibbling on a fish next to him. Gray leaned into Natsu's face. He wanted to get close enough to the man to see if Natsu could feel or smell him. However, Gray immediately jumped back when Natsu's eyes shot wide open.

"Maybe . . ." Gray's hopes shot up when Natsu began to sniff the air. Happy looked over at his partner with a questionable look.

"What's wrong?" Happy asked.

"I smell something," answered Natsu. Soon, the two began to sniff the air. This was when Natsu would discover that Gray was right in front of him. The ice mage so desperately wanted to be found out. How he turned out this way, he would never know, nor would he really care. He just wanted to be visible, to be heard, to be touched, to be able to touch . . .

"Food!" Natsu and Happy exclaimed at once. Gray sweatdropped as both Natsu and his exceed companion ran and flew passed him. Gray could only stand still, as all the hope he had drained away from his body. He turned around and noticed the odd pair digging into a plate of breakfast food Mirajane had prepared.

He was never going to be visible again.

•••

"Hey! Where's Gray?" Natsu shouted out to the guild hall. His voice made Gray wake up from a nap. He had so much stress built on him that just hearing his name made him feel better. "I'm right here!" Gray hissed. No one even bothered to look at him.

Sadly, he forgot he was invisible.

While no one was thinking about him, Gray decided to test his little cold trick out. Just a few hours ago, Gray stood in front of multiple people and watched them shiver. However, when he sat by Natsu, the dragon slayer didn't budge. It was probably because he was keeping himself warm. The weather was getting colder, and Natsu hated wearing winter clothes.

Everyone, besides Natsu, was effected by his presence. Either way, he still had no idea how he would make himself known.

"Beats me. He still might be at home struggling to get over his hangover," Jet laughed. A few others laughed as well. Natsu didn't, which was a surprise to Gray, because he would normally make a joke to go along with that. Silently, Natsu sat down.

"I really wanted to fight him today. He promised yesterday," Natsu mumbled. Gray's eyes widened as he remembered the promise.

The two boys were making fun of each other, though their voices were slurred, and neither boy could really understand one another. It was funny for everyone at the guild hall, and the two broke down laughing at the end.

"Fight me 'morrow," Natsu slurred. "Promise?"

Gray laughed at Natsu's face and stuck his hand out. "'M promise!" They shook on it.

Natsu laid his head on the table. He was facing Gray's direction, and Gray could've sworn Natsu looked at him dead in the eye for a millisecond. That was before Lucy clamped a hand on Natsu's shoulder and Happy sat in front of Natsu.

"Dont get your hopes down, Natsu! He'll fight you the next time you see him!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "Let's go on a job! He might be back by the time we finish!"

Natsu's frown turned into a smile as the trio made their way to the request board. Gray watched as they happily made their way out of the guild.

Unfortunately, Gray wasn't back by the time Natsu finished his job.