Til the last drop

Four

"Juvia doesn't know what to do," The mage expresses as she placed her hands on her forehead. She hasn't seen Gray around, and it began to worry her if he's been weirded out from her behavior.

Ever since that night at Lucy's party and the next morning, it's been awkward. Besides, it seem that he was always busy with something and it made Juvia sulk for most of the day.

She was currently in her room looking at the orb. Luckily for her, it was the same size but it worried her greatly if it decreases. She threw herself on her bed:

Why did she join the Phantom Lord?

Why didn't she declined the offer of being one of the element four?

She got up and looked at the clock on her walls. It was already noon, and she spent most of her day hiding in her apartment. Juvia sighed as she got up from her bed, and decided to look for a job quest. It will ease her mind for sure, besides she can use the extra money.

The walk to the guild was odd. It wasn't like a regular day, something felt different. The second she walked in, she noticed all eyes were on her.

"What's going on?" Juvia questioned as Mira motioned her to come closer to her direction. The mage nodded as she walked towards the women.

"Well, Gajeel walked out upset after he finished talking to Makarov. I don't know exactly what it was about but it seem serious," Mira explained as she looked over and saw the guild master come out of the room.

The water mage bit her lip, "Maybe Juvia can find out," She responded as she left Mira. The old man saw her approach and he didn't seem surprised at all. He assumed that she seen the scene that Gajeel made, "Why is Gajeel upset?"

He sighed as he walked back inside the room but held the door open, so she can follow behind him. Juvia automatically knew what it was about and it was slowly bringing her down.

"He asked if there was something else that can be done to help you out, but I explained to him that whatever dark magic was put in you is something I can't figure out. I know it may be difficult and frustrating since Gray is— well you know," He tried his to best to explain the situation without having to make her upset but it wasn't helpful and ended up making her feel worse.

"It's okay," She reassured, "Juvia appreciates everything that is being done to help with this curse,"

The old man sighed as he looked at the water mage. He felt bad that he couldn't do much— shes one of his children and he's supposed to find another solution that didn't rely on Gray. No one should ever feel that someone's life is in their hand even if it involves wrong actions.

"Did Gajeel tell you where he was going?" The mage questioned as he shook his head. She quietly excused herself leaving him alone in the room while she should head out and look for Gajeel.

She walked out and saw people running around. She looked over at Mira who was busy trying to calm the crowd down. Interested, Juvia walked towards the chaos recognizing two voices.

"What the hell is your problem!"  Gray shouted annoyed that Gajeel had attacked him for no reason. The two started to fight as the iron dragon slayer remained quiet. He shot out ice as Gajeel broke them.

The two were at it as the guild mates cheered around. Juvia couldn't help but roll her eyes. She saw how angry Gajeel was and she knew he would let something slip if she doesn't pull him away. She pushed herself through the crowd while she kept her eyes at the two boys.

The crowd kept cheering as Elfman kept calling out lousy commentary that seem to anger Gray by the second. As Juvia reached towards them she saw Gajeel and hoped he would look her way, but he didn't.

"I'm sick and tired of-"

"Stop!" Juvia shouted as she aimed water towards Gajeel pushing him back. Gray caught off guard looked at the mage confused.

He saw how mad she looked. It was the first time he ever seen her like that. He looked around at his guildmates as they too were confused from her outburst.

Juvia walked towards Gajeel as she had it with his attitude. She saw how he was startled from her attack, "You don't understand, rain-women," he uttered under his breath as he simply walked out of the guild,

Mira realized that something was up and it seem serious,"Okay everyone! Nothing to see!!" She shouted as everyone decided to get back to what they were doing before.

"Juvia?" Gray asked as he stood behind her.

Usually she would of freaked out but today it felt odd. She turned around to face him, "Gajeel-kun is simply having a bad day, that's all," She made up with a grin on her face.

"Well, since your here, have you had lunch yet?" He asked nervously avoiding eye contact.

"No, Juvia hasn't," She answered.

"Do you want to go get some food then?"

Juvia remained quiet, "Juvia thinks she should go find Gajeel-kun first but after it should be fine," She explained as the Ice mage was surprised from her response.

"Here let's go find him," He answered as he grabbed her hand. It was weird that he did it but nothing stopped him. A part of him did it to see how she will react but she looked stunned.

"Okay," She whispered as she felt his cold hands. Inside she was screaming at how he was holding her hand and the fact that he initiated made her die inside.

"Any ideas where he is?" Gray asked as he looked around. The water mage nodded as he always hung out at that tree where he talked to Levy that one time. The one where he got attacked and allowed it for the sake of earning trust.

The two walked in silence as Juvia didn't really know what to say. What can she say? Everything always comes out badly worded.

"I don't see him here," Gray spoke up as she lifted her head and seeing he was no where in sight. She sighed as she released Gray's hand and crossed her arms, "Juvia is everything alright?" He questioned facing her.

"Juvia is worried about Gajeel-kun," She explained as he looked around, "Maybe he went home,"

"Seems like it," Gray commented as he remembered how to cheer her up, "I know where we can eat," He smiled as he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers.

Juvia's cheeks immediately flushed into a red color. She closed her eyes hoping she can calm herself but Gray noticed as a smirk appeared on his lips. He knew that would revert her back into her old self.

He didn't understand the situation or the reason she was acting so different but atleast she still felt the same.