【Re:Freezing】 | Gray Fullbuster x OC

43. Scabs

"Well, one of them was boasting about their strength, especially about that Sting guy. He made it seem like they were famous—"

While Natsu and Lucy were busy prattling on about their recent job, Gray's ears had unintentionally picked up on some of the words that Karissa had spoken. It didn't seem like they were discussing about Old Main anymore. He didn't mean to. It must have been the way he was sitting. Body angled enough for him to rest his arm comfortably on the backrest of his chair.

Gray glanced towards Karissa's table.

"That's because they are." Warren deadpanned as he shuffled the cards in his hands.

"Can't say much about Rogue since he was quiet. But Sting walks around showing off his shoulders and abdo muscles. He's attractive and strong, I guess. He carries himself as 'cool' as well." She spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, her face looking apathetic with a tint of boredom. "If that isn't a traditional recipe for fame amongst girls, then I don't know what is. Girls can really boost a dude's popularity, I mean, take a look at that... what's it called? Uh, that boyfriend list thing in Sorcerer Weekly."

"Attractive, huh?" Max repeated, an eyebrow quirked at her.

"Don't tell me you fell for his charms too?" Warren spoke sarcastically since she mentioned he was attractive.

"I just stated a fact."

Romeo waved his hand dismissively. "There's no way Karissa would just fall in love with Sting out of nowhere. She's too logical for that."

Delighted by what she took as a compliment, Karissa nodded.

Gray turned his gaze away and looked down at the table, specifically where his other hand was resting.

...

...

...

"Why not tell her how you feel?"

"It's a little hard to gauge how she feels since she's pretty secretive when it comes to how she feels..." Gray finally spoke, rubbing his nape. He glanced to the side and spotted Mirajane talking with Levy and Lucy.

"True." Cana sighed and rested her cheek in her palm. "That's one thing I hate about her."

"But that's one of her strengths because she's able to stay strong until it's time to let it out. I don't know if she feels the same." Gray sighed and stared at his water. He stared at his reflection and couldn't help but dislike how troubled he looked over it.

"Well, you won't know unless you tell her that's for sure. Go ahead and confess. There's no harm in doing it."

Should he?

Was it too soon?

He narrowed his eyes at the water.

He always thought that a man should say what he's feeling instead of hiding it. So, why should he be an exception?

Maybe he should tell her instead of trying to figure her out.

Yeah.

But...

"Not now." Gray lifted the glass and gulped down all the water as if he was drinking up his courage. He slammed it down on the counter and looked ahead. "For now, I have something else to focus on."

It was almost time for the S-Class Exam. As much as telling her how he felt was important, becoming an S-Class mage was also something just as important to him. He wanted to focus on that first before doing anything else.