Promise Me Please

Extra #1: A stripper and his swimmer

{GRAY'S POV}
Juvia is easily the fastest person on the swim team. She holds all the female records for the school and can out-swim the boys too. I watch her in awe, sailing through the pale blue water like a dolphin.

If only Juvia weren't so goddamn annoying! The only reason I'm here is because she stole my shirt (again). I'm getting used to being bare-chested, but it's even worse now because she hid my pants too!

I'm literally standing in my underwear by the side of the pool and Juvia pretends she doesn't see me. Her fellow swim team members definitely do. They stare, point, and snicker while I ignore them.

Natsu and Lucy come into the pool area together. Lucy and Juvia are friends, and I'm pretty sure Natsu has been inseparable from Lucy since she got discharged from the hospital last week.

Juvia notices Lucy immediately (a double standard if you ask me) and swims to the edge of the pool. The girls start talking animatedly.

Juvia pulls herself out of the water and I'm momentarily dazed by the movement and how her swimsuit clings... snap outta it, Gray!

I slap my cheeks to knock some sense into them, and unfortunately the flamebrain notices.

"Hey, Stripper, how's it hanging?" Natsu snickers. Lucy elbows her idiot boyfriend in the side, and Juvia feigns surprise.

"Oh, Gray-sama, Juvia didn't see you there!" She emphasizes the -sama as usual. Juvia is probably the only one who could make an honorific sarcastic. She started adding it to my name after going to a party at Mira's house.

"Where are my clothes, Juvia?" I ask through gritted teeth. Juvia pretends to think about it.

I'm tempted to tackle her and force her to tell me, but two things stop me. I don't want to slam Juvia against the tile or get my drawers wet, and the thought of tackling her while practically naked makes me feel weird. Tingly.

"Ah! Juvia remembers!" Juvia grins and runs into the girls locker room, then comes out carrying my neatly folded school uniform.

This is too easy. I reach out to grab them, but Juvia flits away. I knew it!

Juvia runs around the pool area waving my clothes around triumphantly and I have no choice but to follow her. We get halfway around the pool when Juvia slips on the wet tile.

"Ah." She looks at the water below her in surprise.

"Juvia!" I shout. I manage to get my arms around her and stop her fall. I steady her on her feet before yelling, "Don't run in the pool area, idiot! What if you'd gotten hurt?"

Juvia opens her mouth to speak then thinks better of it. Her blue eyes are huge and her pupils are dilated from shock. They are also very close. I realize that we're standing millimeters apart. She's still in her swimsuit and I'm in my underwear. Her lips are slightly parted and I can feel her breath on my mouth. There's that tingly feeling again.

"Juvia dropped Gray-sama's clothes." She whispers. It takes a second for my mind to register what she said, then the moment is broken.

"What?!" I look over her shoulder into the pool, where my school uniform sinks into the deep end.

"No no no!" I release Juvia and lie on the pools edge, stretching my hand out as far as it will go, but I can tell it's already too late.

I glare at Juvia. "You—"

"Juvia will get Gray-sama's clothes." Juvia prepares to dive, but I stop her.

"No point. I'll just wear my gym uniform today." I sigh and stand. I leave Juvia at the pool's edge and walk towards the door.

As I walk past a pile of pool noodles, an out-of-place white catches my eye. I peek behind the pile and find one of my classmates crouching there.

"Mira?" She jumps when I say her name, then turns with a guilty expression. Her face is flushed as she hides a notebook behind her back.

"Ahem! Smooth, Gray. Very smooth." Mira nods her approval. I tilt my head in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "And why are you hiding behind pool noodles?"

"Observing." She answers immediately. Before I can further question what exactly she's observing, I hear a splash and turn my head.

Juvia just dove into the pool to get my clothes. I guess it makes sense not to leave them down there. I walk back to the pool's edge and peer into the clear blue water.

Something's not right.

Juvia should have already reached the bottom by now. Instead she's sinking slowly. I think she's grabbing her leg. Juvia opens her mouth and releases a torrent of bubbles. Muscle cramp.

My body moves on its own. I dive into the pool and open my eyes. Juvia sees me and reaches out. I reach out and wrap my arms tightly around her, then kick hard and propel us to the surface.

Juvia coughs and sputters for air. She wraps her arms tightly around my neck and I feel her trembling. I keep one arm securely around her as I tread over to the ladder at the pool's edge.

"Juvia! Juvia!" Lucy cries, running over. She tries to help me, but I shake off her hands.

"I got her." I tell Lucy. She nods grimly.

I carry Juvia princess style, and for once she's not wise-cracking or making fun of me. Natsu goes to find the swim coach, while Mira and Lucy search for towels to dry us off. Juvia and I are left alone in the pool area.

Juvia is still shaking. Not knowing what to do, I awkwardly pat her hair. "It's okay, you're safe now." I whisper soothingly.

"Juvia got Gray-sama's clothes." She murmurs, and for the first time I notice that my school uniform is clenched tightly in her fist.

I laugh hysterically, even though nothing about this is funny. "You held on to them while drowning? You're such an idiot, Juvia!"

"Love you." She whispers softly. Her face is pressed against my chest, and it feels hot.

I stiffen, then my face flushes. "Eh? Eeeeeeh?" The tingly feeling is back.

"Love you." Juvia lifts her face, and it's bright red, up to the roots of her hair. Cute.

She leans in, and I unconsciously lean forward too. Natsu chooses then to burst in with the swim coach. And that idiot best friend of mine wonders why I hate him sometimes.