Frost

20

Natsu was ready to burst down the door when Eric had confirmed that Gray was indeed on the other side of the door. However, Erza stepped in before anything could go wrong. "Don't get too excited, Natsu."

"But Gray's in there! He's waiting for us!"

"Do you even know how we're going to get him to the guild hall?" Jellal asked. Natsu blinked a few times before rubbing a hand on his chin. Gray was invisible, but he could touch things, right? So it had to be possible that they could touch the ice mage. Natsu wasn't sure about the plan.

"He can just follow us," Happy exclaimed. It was the most logical idea since all they had to do was get Gray to walk with them. Of course, Natsu would also be able to tell that he's following them, as well as Eric being able to listen to him. Maybe, just maybe, the poison dragon slayer can be their way of communication now that Natsu was thinking about it. If he could hear Gray wall, he probably was able to hear him speak.

Natsu scratched his head. He hadn't really communicated with Gray since that time they were in the tree—Gray shook a branch to respond to him. But that was only a sign, not words. The dragon slayer didn't even know how Gray was feeling about the whole situation.

Natsu turned towards Eric. "Can you . . . hear him?"

Eric furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. Obviously."

"No! I mean, can you hear him talk?" Natsu's eyes were wide when Eric looked down to the ground. He scratched his head, and Natsu watched as his ears perked up. The poison dragon slayer looked back up at Natsu and shrugged. "Either he's not talking or I can't hear him speak."

Natsu blinked and watched as Erza walked up to the door. She wore a scowl on her face, like she was suddenly impatient. "I guess we're going to have to find out."

She banged on the door and called for Gray. Eric listened carefully. Natsu closed his eyes and waited.

•••

Gray could hear him. He heard their small share of words. He just didn't speak.

What was the point of him following them back to the guild hall when he couldn't walk anymore. As much as he tried, it was to a point where he could only sit or lay down. Standing wasn't an option either. He was beginning to wonder what was going to happen to him if he were to be invisible much longer.

It didn't hurt, and he could still feel his legs. So they were there, and that was a good thing.

Gray laid back and stared up at the ceiling. His eyes wouldn't close. Even though he had only woken up that day, he wanted to sleep so badly. The ice mage just wanted to close his eyes and not wake up. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone anymore. They were wasting their time.

But then there was the question; why was he invisible in the first place? Who or what did it to him? As much as he wanted to be forgotten and for everything to go away, he missed being involved in all the action and the excitement.

"Why can't we open the door? If he's in there, isn't it unlocked?" Natsu asked. A small smile grew on Gray's lips.

"I don't know? Why don't you try it?" Happy. Gray hadn't heard him in a while. Soon, the two were arguing. After a few moments, Eric joined in. Erza got in the middle of it, trying to shut the three up, but no one stopped. Their bickering could disturb neighbors, but they, being who they are, really could care less.

Finally, Jellal was embarrassed enough that he decided to barge into the argument. "How about you guys just shut up!?" he hissed, making everyone grow quiet. Gray sighed with relief, and he closed his eyes.

"Thank you!"

"Did you say that?" Eric asked. Gray's eyes opened immediately, and he sat up as quickly as possible. He turned his body to where he was facing the door, and he listened carefully to what was going on out there.

"Say what?"

"You're telling me that none of you said a word?"

There was a few seconds of silence before Erza replied, "I don't think so . . ." Loud pounding against the door made Gray jump in the air. It was so loud and obnoxiously unnecessary. If Eric could hear him, then what was the point of knocking.

"What're ya waiting for, Gray!? Open up!" Natsu shouted. Gray placed his hands on his ears, which was no help at all because it seemed like the pounding got louder. "Stop!"

"He said stop!" Eric sounded excited.

"Tell him to open the door!"

"I can't!" Gray shouted. He could only stare at the door as the pounding became quiet. Was Natsu that desperate for him to open up? "Why?" Eric asked. Everyone out there asked what Gray was saying.

"Because I can't walk!" Gray blinked a few times after he said that. It got everyone quiet on the other side of the door. A few whispers grew, and suddenly it was a whole conversation over what Gray had just admitted. He couldn't say that he wasn't scared because he was. Gray never had problems to a point where he just couldn't walk anymore. But he wasn't tired. Maybe it was a side effect of him being invisible. Or maybe . . .

Gray didn't want to think about it. It was a possibility, him disappearing forever and all. It's been a while—he lost track of when he had awoken to being completely invisible.

After what felt like forever, Erza spoke to Gray from the other side. If he were honest, he'd rather have to hear her voice over Eric's bone-chilling vocals. "Natsu and Happy went to get Porlyusica. Jellal went to inform Lucy and Levy about the situation. Can you try to let us in?" He could hear it in her voice that she was impatient, but Gray was also able to hear the slight worry in her tone. Gray sighed and ran a hand through his tangled hair.

He began to wonder how he would look if he became visible again. Would he still be the same Gray he was before? He hasn't been active for a while, being cooped up in his apartment for who knows how long and all.

Gray ignored the idea. That was something he would find out later. The invisible ice mage planted his hands onto the ground and pushed. He scooted himself all the way until he was at least a foot away from the door. He then reached for the doorknob, his fingers barely brushing the metal. With one hard push, his hand turned, and the door opened up quickly to where it hit was he could feel in his legs.

Erza only looked around, but Eric's mouth was wide open. "Unbelievable . . ."

"It's believable all right," Gray grumbled. He was able to start a conversation with Erza and Eric. It filled up time. It made him less worried about the possibility of disappearing.