Melting Gray [Gratsu]

3

Chapter Three

☆Natsu Dragneel ☆

After a couple weeks, Natsu's anxiousness from starting school dropped considerably, leaving his energy levels at an all time low. Therefore, it took serious effort for him to get out of bed.

With a major struggle, he was able to make it on his scooter in just forty minutes. Natsu put on his helmet as he blankly stared ahead and drove to school. When he got there, he locked his scooter to the bike rack, adjusted his backpack straps on his shoulders, and grudgingly walked to the school entrance. He felt Lucy pop up next to him as he scanned his student ID card to open the doors.

"It's only been two weeks, Natsu. Look a little happier," Lucy snorted, ruffling his hair in greeting. Natsu barely registered her annoying habit of fluffing his hair and groaned.

"Mornings suck," Natsu stated the obvious.

"You know what else sucks?" Lucy said slyly. After a moment of thinking (considering his brain wasn't awake at this ungodly hour), Natsu gasped and whacked her arm.

"Shut up!"

Lucy only laughed and went upstairs to her homeroom. Natsu rubbed his eyes and continued walking downstairs to his own homeroom. When he turned the corner, all his senses turned on as he watched what was happening in front of him.

The jerk of the year Gajeel was bullying Gray again. And no one was doing anything about it. Were they delirious or something?

They must be, Natsu thought angrily as he marched up to the scene. "Hey, asshole! Quit it!"

"Hey, the fag's back!" Gajeel chided. "I was just talking to your boyfriend here."

"He's not my boyfriend, why do you keep saying that?" Natsu shouted, feeling a small warmth on his ears. "And you obviously weren't talking to him, because he's sitting there on the floor, holding his stomach!"

"That isn't your place to say, homo," Gajeel growled. "Go back to whatever rainbow land you came from."

"Hey..." Gray said weakly. "Shut... up."

Gajeel looked taken aback, but his shocked expression was quickly replaced with a crooked grin. He scooped Gray up with his shirt with ease, considering the fact he was really muscular, and Gray was a light-built male, and brought him to his eye level. "Whattya say, punk?"

"I said... shut up!" Gray yelled, raising his fist and punching Gajeel in the cheek. Er, well, he tried. He hit the nose, but that honestly worked too. The sickening crack and sudden trickle of blood made a Gajeel drop Gray in surprise, and he scrambled to his feet and ran.

"You're gonna get it, freak! People like you should just die!" Gajeel yelled after him. He then turned to Natsu, sporting a murderous glare. "You."

"Me," Natsu nodded cheekily.

"I'm gonna let you go this time," Gajeel warned, shoving Natsu backwards. "But believe me, if that freak boy bumps into me one more time, I'll pound the living crap outta both of ya'. You hear me?"

"Not really," Natsu shrugged. "It's really hard to hear over your incredibly loud fashion sense," Natsu scrambled to grab Gray's things and left the enraged bully behind him.

Geez, this is just like two weeks ago, Natsu muttered to himself as he went to go look for Gray. Better go check on him.

By a stroke of luck, he saw Gray sitting by a tree in the school gardens. A wave of pity washed over Natsu as he took in Gray's broken expression and slight lip quiver. Natsu shook his head to clear that thought. Gray told him so many times not to pity him. He could handle himself. He didn't Natsu to-

Oh, screw it.

Natsu quietly pushed open the double doors and let them loudly swing shut behind him. Gray's head jerked towards the door, and he seemed to shrink into the tree trunk. "Hey, it's Natsu."

"Hey," Gray replied in a low tone.

In the last few weeks, Natsu was happy to say he was inching his way to being a true friend of Gray's. And by that, he meant Gray wasn't constantly scowling and trying to try away from him. Natsu could tell Gray sometimes enjoyed his company, especially in times like these.

"Here's your stuff. Uhh... are you okay?" Natsu asked quietly, trying to keep his voice calm.

Gray set his things on his lap. "I'm okay," Gray answered, shifting his position, wincing slightly.

"Wait, no you aren't!" Natsu cried. "Are your ribs okay? If they're broken, you shouldn't be sitting like that-"

"I'm fine!" Gray repeated angrily.

"Lift up your shirt," Natsu commanded.

"I don't-"

"Do it!" Natsu demanded.

A bit surprised at the harshness of Natsu's tone, Gray slowly pulled on the end of his shirt, revealing some of his stomach. Natsu didn't even bother thinking about looking at his abs, because when he spotted a large, yellowish bruise covering the side of his stomach, he gasped.

"Crap! You are most definitely not fine! Come on, we gotta take you to the nurse!" Natsu panicked, running his finger lightly over the bruise. At least he wasn't hit too hard, since it was yellow, as opposed to bluish-purple, but the splotch was indeed very large.

"No, I'll just head home. My aunt is a nurse," Gray argued, standing up and stifling a groan. Natsu stood up after him, pulling his arm back. "What is it?"

"Wouldn't it be safer and quicker just to go to the school nurse?" Natsu argued softly.

"I don't like it when people I'm not comfortable with touch me," Gray explained. "So I'll just be going home."

"Alone and in the condition you're in? Like hell you will," Natsu laughed. "Therefore, I'll be driving you."

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Sorry for the short chapter lovely laddies, I had it near-finished, but I never really got around to it. D: High school has started and I'm rather busy, but I will continue to update! I had a bunch of good ideas planned out for this story, and I'm pumped. :D

Probably going to do shorter chapters now. 2-3 pages. That way I can update more.