A Lost Boy

Chapter 5

From her nightstand drawer she pulled out a needle, a spool of thread, and some scissors. She then sat on the floor next to Gray and threaded the needle.

"Okay now I need you to hold still for this and it will pinch a little."

She stuck the needle through the shadow and then carefully through the skin of Gray's ankle.

"Ouch." He hissed.

"Sorry."

"It's okay I've felt worse, keep going."

Juvia began to sew the shadow on to his ankles. Gray watched her work with the utmost fascination. He too had very little experience with the opposite sex. He mostly associated himself with boys and the few number of girls he did know weren't exactly human or close to his age. All the females on the island where he lived were either a fully grown mermaid or fairy. In fact he only knew of one human girl who resided on the island. She was the leader of the Indians and considered by many as the prettiest girl on the island but her features didn't catch his attention like Juvia's did.

He didn't mean to stare so much but he couldn't help himself. He had never seen someone so fair skinned and rosy cheeked. Or with hair that smelled of something besides forest and big blue eyes that held so much innocence. She was as beautiful as the light of day and he was surprised that something so lovely had never existed on the island. 

Once she was finished with the sewing he stood up and his shadow was instantly reattached to his entire body.

"Oh the cleverness of me." He said full of himself.

"You?" Juvia said.

"Yep. I swear sometimes I amaze myself by how smart and clever I am."

"Of course I did absolutely nothing." She said sarcastically.

"You did a little."

"A little? Hmph! Not the humble or the gracious type are you? Well goodnight then."

Feeling insulted and unappreciated Juvia went back to bed and pulled the covers over herself. Gray quickly remembered his manners and changed his demeanor.

"Uh Juvia thank you for helping me get my shadow back on." He told her. "And you know one girl is worth twenty boys."

"You really think so?"

"I know so I live with boys."

"What boys?" She asked coming out from under the covers.

"The lost boys. They're children with families who don't treat them well and if they are seen by me I take them to Tendrou Island. If they want to go with me that is."

"Are there girls there too?"

"Not really. I don't come across girls that much. In fact you're the first one I've ever really seen. Girls usually lock their windows so I can't get in, boys on the other hand typically forget to."

"You may have a point there. This week it's my brother Natsu's turn to lock the windows and he tends to be a little forgetful."

"I guess that proves my theory correct."

"What theory?"

"That girls are smarter than boys."

"You honestly believe that?"

"Well I've heard stories about baby boys falling out of their prams when their nurses aren't looking but I've heard nothing about baby girls falling out of their prams. I guess they're too clever."

"It is perfectly lovely the way you talk about girls." She smiled sweetly. "I should like to give you a kiss."

Gray did not know what a kiss was so he held out his hand to her.