Faking and Loving [A Grayza Story]

Is This Even Real?

DAY 5

It had been three days since Erza had received the hate notes.

And throughout those three days those notes were left continuously in her locker. She had discovered a pattern when she found the notes in her locker. Just before lunch after class she would find one and around 5:00 when club activities were over she'd find another one. After the pretend kiss attempt, she hadn't done much with Gray besides the usual hand-holding, joining him for lunch and helping him out with homework after school.

Their friends thought they were on a date almost every day but really Erza just helped him out with homework. But it was perfectly fine for Erza if they wanted to think that.

Honestly she was looking forward to just eating cake (he promised to treat her after all if she went through with this). But if Gray wanted to ask for help with homework, who was she to refuse? And discussing homework did help diminish the slight awkward tension that still lingered. Erza was never much of a talkative person, she liked just listening to her friends chat and she would join in sometimes if she knew what they were talking about. Back then, Gray was the one that always talked, he always had something to say to her.

He always had something to share with her.

It might have been just pure bragging on what accomplishments he did for the whole day, but he always attempted to talk to her, and for some reason, when Gray was around she would say more than she usually did. It was usually just comments to shoot him down though.

Him and that overconfident grin of his.

There were also those few times when they just sat quietly together. Without Natsu around, there was always a different air around them, something Erza couldn't quite recognize. She wasn't the type to talk to her friends about her personal problems and she realized she usually hid behind the scary exterior of hers.

Some of them were fooled, but Gray usually wasn't.

"You're not okay, are you?" He'd ask when he finally found her, alone and near tears.

"What are you, a stalker? How do you always find me?" Erza would say, pretending to be rough, but she was still obviously rubbing off her tears in attempt to hide them.

"S-Shut up! I just know okay?" He said, a tiny blush painted on his cheeks. He shoved a handkerchief in her hand. "I know you're not gonna tell me what's going on, but if you ever do...use this before saying anything." He said, referring to the handkerchief. "Don't use your sleeves. It's disgusting."

"You stripping out in the open right now is what's more disgusting."

"Crap!"

She smiled at the memory.

But of course things weren't really the same now. If it weren't for helping him out with homework, or talking about the mission, she wouldn't have much to say to him. And he, never talked much to her anymore, which was a given.

Erza was determined to quietly use this favor of his as a way to be friends again. That was for certain.

She shook her head. Time to focus.

Erza had wanted to catch the culprit days before, but her schedule simply didn't allow it. And yesterday when he schedule was free, she was called by one of her teachers to talk about her "future" after graduation.

But today was perfect. She had found out the day before that the book club wouldn't have any after school activities so she would definitely have time to investigate.