In The End - A Gruvia Fanfiction

III: Stranger Confidante Pt. 2

***

A soft sigh escaped Juvia as she got out of her car where she had parked a street away from Mirajane's restaurant. Her phone had been buzzing with messages from her brother, Lisanna, Lucy and Levy asking about her well-being. They realised she was gone before the game had reached half-time and Gajeel wanted to storm right down to the dorm to ensure she was fine despite her constant assurance.

Left without a choice, Juvia agreed to head to the party as she was feeling better than earlier. Not a total lie but she would rather stay in the dorm than witness Gray and his girlfriend being lovey-dovey.

So, there she was, still in the sweater she had worn, but with an additional denim jacket to fend against the dropping temperatures at night. The doors to Mirajane's restaurant, 'The Devil's Den', were wide open and bustling with life.

The party had already started with the crowd cheering for the victory of the team. Upbeat music blasted through the speakers and several party-goers were dancing at the center of the restaurant. The tables had been pushed to the side to make a dance floor for the night. As Juvia got nearer to the end of the place where the bar was, she could hear one of the guys at the front of the bar cheering. From what she could hear, she interpreted that Gray's team had won, as expected.

The bar was bustling with drinks being pushed out quickly and at the center, Juvia could see a familiar brunette grabbing every alcohol she could get her hands on. The bartender looked rather irritated at Cana but said nothing as he carried on pouring out drinks for the patrons. To the side, there was the man of the Strauss chatting away with Evergreen, according to Lisanna, her brother was planning to propose next year.

She then spotted the bright scarlet hair of Erza but chose not to interrupt when a certain blue-headed man entered her line-of-sight. She could say hi a little later. Both of them worked in the army and rarely see each other due to the different placements.

The platinum blonde hair of her roommate was seen bobbing around the booths of the restaurant bistro, assisting Mirajane in serving the party guests. Juvia waved at her when they made eye-contact. Lyon was absent; he had to attend to something at work when she asked if he would be there.

Searching the crowd for familiar faces, Juvia noticed the salmon-headed man from the corner, the blonde sitting right next to him was babbling about something that Natsu was trying to pay attention to, rather than the food in front of him. Just as Juvia wanted to walk towards them, Lucy's eyes caught hers. The blonde's arms waved frantically in the air and Juvia fought back a smile at how adorable her friend was when she was excited.

"You're finally here! I was so worried when I didn't see you after the game, Lisanna said you've gone back before the game even started. Are you okay?" Lucy fretted over her and Juvia felt bad for lying.

"I'm fine, I took some painkillers." She glanced around, trying to spot for a familiar raven-haired man. Despite the fact that it was impossible, Juvia found herself worrying if perhaps, in the smallest possibility that Meredy knew Gray and she would tell him everything.

What if Meredy knew Gray? Or what if-?

"Are you looking for Gray? He's probably celebrating with his teammates at the front of the bar." Lucy answered her unspoken question, a knowing smile on her lips as she watched the bluenette's wandering eyes.

At her words, Juvia's cheeks flushed and she turned so her friend wouldn't see her reaction. "I was looking for Gajeel." Her eyes searched the crowd, going through several faces in an attempt to spot the unruly hair of her brother's.