Melting Gray [Gratsu]

21

Chapter Twenty-One

☆ Natsu Dragneel ☆

School passed by in a blur.

A euphoric, delightful, raven-colored blur.

Gray grumpily talked to me like usual, but I sensed the vulnerability and doubt in his expression. Was he unsure of himself or unsure of me?

Lucy was just a sound whistling through my ears as we were focusing- well, she was focusing- on the Biology lab. We were trying to discover what substances iodine and biuret would trigger.

"Hold the test tube steady, Nat," Lucy whispered impatiently. My fingers curled around my propped-up chin as I sighed dreamily. My mind was clouded with fuzzy images of grainy beaches, sunsets, and soft lips. "Natsu! Are you even paying attention at all?" She repeated louder, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Not really," I admitted.

"Listen, I know you kissed Gray, but I cannot risk failing this assignment because you're off in dreamland," Lucy explained kindly, a grin forming on her face. "I'm happy for you, by the way. I didn't think you had that kind of thing in you."

I grumbled incoherently and blushed. "Yeah. Thanks. Let's just work now," I suggested, trying to move the topic along. Lucy nodded, understanding the underlying message, and began to carefully add drops of iodine into the unlabeled chemicals.

Finally, I had made trough the sluggish day in a blink of an eye, and I found myself resting on the leather upholstery of Gray's kitchen table, doing homework. Our arms were pressed together and the indescribable heat I felt was different than the last time. Something had changed.

"The inventor of homework is a moron," I grumbled, tapping my pencil against the textbook. "It's a metaphor, see. You put the textbook in front of you, but you don't let it do its teaching," I mumbled angrily to myself.

Gray held back a giggle. "Perks of being disabled- not as much homework," He teased.

"Okay, shoot off my legs then, please," I said seriously. Gray turned his head my direction and scoffed. "Wait just a minute! It's friday!"

"Yes, it is!" Gray said back mock-enthusiastically. "Let's go out and party!"

"You can't go get wasted and do stupid stuff, because we're leaving," Silver explained bemusedly as his suitcase clunked behind him. Mika followed, toting a matching suitcase.

"Are you sure you boys can handle it? Natsu, I talked to your father- he's alright with you babysitting, and he said not to destroy the house," Mika smirked.

"We'll be fine," Gray and I said simultaneously, waving them off.

"Oh my god, they're soulmates," Silver whispered not-so-inconspicuously to his wife. "Okay, we're off. Have fun! Don't forget to feed and bathe the kids!" Mika waved, opening the back door.

"Use protection!" Silver added, tossing a box of condoms on the counter before following her like an obedient puppy. I flushed and stared shyly at my history report. I stood up, picked up the box, and threw it in the garbage.

"Hey, we may need that!" Gray teased, his cheeks also painted a shade of vermillion. I snorted, sat back down, and somehow, a force from above made my hand move to take his.

Gray didn't make a move to let go, so we held on, our fingers intertwining. I continued to edit my report, checking for mistakes and confirming them in the textbook. After another ten minutes, I got fed up with red pens and war dates, so I threw my pen down in disgust and slammed my textbook.

"I will do you later," I said menacingly to the report before shoving it in my binder.

"Aw, I thought you'd do me later," Gray whined, pouting teasingly.

I let go of our hands and pushed his shoulder. "Stop making sexual innuendos!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Pizza."

"Chinese."

"Pizza."

"Chinese!"

"Pizza!"

"Snowcones!" Lyon cheered.

"NO!" Gray and Ultear shouted simultaneously. Lyon shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Gray and Ultear continued their dispute on what to buy for dinner- Gray was feeling takeout and Ultear was craving cheesy, saucy goodness.

"Now guys, it's only 4:30. Why don't we wait a little bit then decide?" I offered, just wanting them to shut up for a moment or two. They both shot me irritated glares and I glared back twice as menacingly. Ultear cringed but Gray didn't move, because he couldn't see my expert shoot-down stare.

"Go sleep outside," Gray grumbled.

I paused, mulling that shameful insult over. "You know... That actually doesn't sound too bad."

"Oh, here he goes," Gray sighed to himself. I could feel the eye roll in his tone, but I chose to ignore it.

"No! I'm serious! Let's- let's go backyard camping!" I cried joyfully, tossing my hands up in the air. "Do you guys have a tent? Or we could just sleep under the stars! Oh my god, tonight would be perfect! It's just the right temperature, so there won't be bugs or getting too cold!" I rambled excitedly.

"Oh, can we, Gray? Pleaseeee?" Ultear begged, jumping on the train. She was all for the idea.

"Yeah! Camping!" Lyon clapped. "Natsu-chan, we have sleeping bags upstairs in the hall closet!"

I nodded happily before turning to Gray. "Whattya say, Gray-bae? Want to go spend a night in the scary wilderness?"

Gray frowned for about three seconds, before he sighed and smiled. "Fine, but you're setting up the tent. You'll have to go up into the attic and look. Have fun dealing with that cob-webby mess."

I high-fived the kids. "Okay, I'm going to go get the tent. You two pack your stuff, okay? Make sure to pack some books, and don't forget the marshmallows!" Ultear saluted and Lyon hugged me before they bounded upstairs like wild monkeys.

"I wish Natsu-chan would always stay here! It's so much fun with Natsu-chan!" Lyon shouted from upstairs. I blushed and dug my sock-covered toe into the floor, mumbling incogent denials.

"Come on, I'll go show you the attic," Gray stood up, motioning for me to follow him up the stairs. We made it up and down the hall. Gray effortlessly reached up and grabbed a hanging drawstring, pulling down a ladder to the attic floor. Dust flew in my face and I coughed wildly. "Up you go."

I gulped and nodded before grabbing tightly to the sides of the ladder. One step at a time, I told myself, trying my hardest not to look down and think about falling between the rungs. Seven steps and a thousand erratic heartbeats later, I scrambled into the attic.

The attic was about three times the size of Gray's room, but also weirdly shaped- like a twentogon. It was organized in a cluttered fashion, and I stepped over an old pillow cushion to begin my search. "What's it look like?" I shouted downstairs.

"Don't ask the blind guy!!" He screamed back.

Oh, that sarcasm never gets old.

Thankfully, someone above must've been keeping tabs on me today, because I spotted a CampCo logo and rushed carefully (you never know if there's a loose board or splintered wood around here) and wiped the dust off, revealing a large mesh bag that looked like it could hold a tent. However, it was about ten feet tall and two feet wide. I had no idea how I was going to get this down the ladder and still make it out alive.

So I went for option B.

"Timber!" I shouted before pushing it down the ladder. It slid down like a slide before crashing with a muffled thud on the carpet. Gray squeaked, afraid, and muttered a few various obscenities.

"Reckless," Gray commented annoyedly as I shimmied down the ladder, breathing a sigh of relief when I hit solid ground and breathed in fresh, non-dusty air. I came to a realization.

Attics are terrifying.