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Aʟʟ I Eᴠᴇʀ Nᴇᴇᴅᴇᴅ
"It's going to be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."
Chapter 15 - Comfort Charm

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"I-It has to be a dream..." Juvia whispered to herself as she sat, visibly shaking, looking at her phone "-it just had to have been-"

Everyone else sat silently, feelings of sympathy welling up in their hearts for the poor bluenette who was, in fact, in reality, and not a dream.

After the Element four - well, Element three, now - plus Gajeel had left, the group of teens had decided to carry out their idea of hanging out, making the plan to head over to Gray's place with a trembling Juvia.

After a long walk to the Fullbuster residence, they were now all in the kitchen of the specific home listening sorrowfully to the bluenettes weeps of anguished cries. The girl had been trying frantically, ever since she sat down on the chair at the table, to text Totomaru and her other Fiorean friends - poor Juvia had it in her mind that she was just sleeping and everything that had happened an hour ago never did go on; if only that was true.

Wendy, Gray's step-sister, sat on the floor next to Juvia, hugging the bluenettes waist as if she were a balloon and was about to fly away. When the group of teens arrived at her home, Wendy was quick to give Juvia a hug, noticing right away that her swim coach - and, hopefully, soon-to-be-sister-in-law - was noticeably shaking with tears flowing from her eyes. Needless to say...the younger girl hadn't moved from the position of hugging her favorite person ever, trying her best to comfort the girl.

"Juvia-- I hate to break it to you...but they aren't going to reply..." Lucy said carefully, her hands clasped in her lap as she stared elsewhere in the room, her eyes soft and innocent.

The bluenette just shook her head at the blonde's comment and continued staring at her phone hopefully, tears welling in her eyes "T-They have to answer--" Juvia said through sobs, her thumbs busy texting the four people she hoped to be friends with again.

In another room, quite a distance from the Fullbuster home, there was barely any light showing as a group of 4 teens sat, letting the whole room, which reeked of gloom take over their bodies with depressive thoughts, sitting silently as they let reality smack the sense into themselves. When I say silent, I mean it--not a single peep tried escaping from either one of the guy's mouths--it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop--if there wasn't a disturbance, that is.

Their phones were constantly buzzing, vibrating the object it was on. All of their phones were ringing, getting spammed with messages that they dared not to read; they also didn't even think to go silence the sanity stealing device--they knew full-well who it was trying to reach them, they simply just couldn't bare the thought of the woman they once called a friend. So, they let sadness take over instead as they continued listening to the buzzing, each individual either covering their ears to distract themselves from the annoying noise, or silently choosing a spot in the room that seemed interesting enough to stare at with sorrow.

The buzzing never stopped, it just kept going... Over and over.

"Here are some cookies, you guys..." Silver broke the sound of just sobs in the home as he placed a platter of cookies on the table, Wendy taking the favor of indulging the sweet cookies before anyone else, unwrapping her arms from Juvia - who was furiously texting - to reach for a cookie placed on the platter her father had just brought out.

"Yummy! You're a great baker, Daddy!!"

"If you need anything else, let me know-" Silver patted Gray on the back as he went back into the other room, letting the teens - and the addition of Wendy - comfort the girl without an adult in the room. He thought it was the best idea for both him and Gray, including his friends.

Once the silence came back again, the sound of Juvia's sobs was unbearable to listen to without feeling an ounce of sympathy, since she was crying so heavily and spoke no words. Her thumbs typed as if her life depended on it, and after a long minute, Juvia slammed her phone down on the table, startling the others who looked up from the ground they were caught staring at as they helplessly heard the girl cry, not knowing what to do.

Juvia cupped her face - courtesy to her elbows perched up on her knees, it was holding up her hands which were carrying her face as her sobs continued to accelerate "I am so stupid..." the others listened hopelessly as the girl sobbed even more, Wendy's arm wrapping tighter around her swim coach as she tried desperately to comfort her.

"No your not, Juvi..." Wendy said as she nuzzled her chin in Juvia's lap, trying her best to comfort the fellow bluenettes heart, which to little prevail helped Juvia's sobs dial down.

After another while of silence, Gray decided to break it for good "Y'know...Wendy's right..." Juvia peeked through her fingers covering her eyes at Gray who was staring at Juvia softly, a small smile spread across his face once he saw the troubled girls' eye ''It's their fault for not opening up their heart to new people-"

Erza nodded along, leaning back in the chair as she continued to peer her eyes out the back door "you don't need to feel sad, Juvia... Since it's you, they'll probably come crawling back in a week flat--no one is that stupid to give up a friendship that quickly with you."

Juvia slowly moved her hands away from her stained-with-tears-face, setting them in her lap as she stared at her feet placed on the floor "they won't give up grudges that easily, but thanks..." Juvia let a small sorrow-filled-but-heartfelt-smile show on her face as she fixed the skirt of her uniform - to which the smile dropped as tears began streaming again "I've been friends with them for this long and know it for a fact..." she sniffed as she took the sleeve of her outfit to wipe the tears away, trying her best not to let another sob out, but even with the biggest try, she choked out the whimper which fled out of her mouth.

She wasn't talking in third person like she usually did, meaning she only spoke in first point of view when she was sad - Gray and the others had noticed this pattern long ago. So, they all knew how she really felt, because if anything was meant for speaking in first person it was for her father, so if anything was as sad as that, then it must've been a serious reason for crying - and that was true.

As the silence refilled the room, everyone else started gaining more and more sympathy for the friend of theirs who was terribly sorrow-filled, and once the silence became unbearable, Natsu decided to break it--"Well, what a way to hang out," he said, gaining a small laugh from Juvia, making the others raise a brow at the girls sudden form of happiness. Though, she excused herself quickly.

"Sorry, I must be so ridiculous, you all are probably wishing I would've chosen them over you..." Juvia said a little too seriously, the smile she got from Natsu remaining on her face as the room shared a laugh--which seemed impossible at first.

Gray pursed his lips, wanting to ask Juvia the question that had been burning his mind ever since the bluenette chose the Magnolian group over the Fiorean one--why did you choose us? But, he stayed silent, letting the question bother his mind.

"No, you aren't ridiculous!" Lucy promised her smile affecting Juvia's which grew wider as the final tears left her eyes as she let a laugh tear out of her mouth.

"Thanks, Lucy..." Juvia stared down at her lap with a content smile while tears escaped from her eyes.

After yet another moment of silence, Levy abruptly stood and looked straight at Juvia "well, I should get going... My family wants me home, and I kind of want to finish my book..."

"Ooh! Good idea, I want to finish my book, too!" Lucy stood as well, gathering the bag at her feet as she placed a hand on Juvia's shoulder "text me if you need a helping hand or a ranting buddy, k?"

To this, Juvia just nodded and held up her head in one of her hands, she continuing to stare at the floor "Gotcha..."

"I guess I better head out, as well" Erza proclaimed, risking to her feet.

As Levy, Erza, and Lucy got to the door, Natsu arose "here, let me walk you two home for safety measures, Erza's okay by herself" he offered, opening the door for the three as they exited out, "see ya Ice-Princess, Juvia, Wendy, Fullbuster," Natsu said with a nod towards each individual, specifically getting a glare and the middle finger from a certain someone who wasn't too pleased with his name.

"Bye, Juvia~!" both Levy and Lucy said out in tune, and Erza waved before the door closed, the presence of the four leaving as silence refilled the room.

Wendy unwrapped her arms from Juvia, standing to her feet with a smile on her face towards her swim coach "I like you more with a smile, Juvia!" the girl randomly expressed, getting a lazy smile from the bluenette.

"Me too, cutie..." as she let her sentence drag out, Wendy placed her warm lips on Juvia's cheek causing a soft smile to show on the depressed girls' face. Gray just sat and watched as it happened with a smile on his face, too, a feeling of warmness filling his heart at his sister's kind words and action.

It wasn't long before Wendy got a smile spread across her face once she caught sight of her brother smiling at them - the younger girl thought he was smiling at Juvia for some reason, so she got excited "You know... Gray could comfort you so well that you'd consider marrying him on the spot!!!"

At the girls' words, both Gray and Juvia blushed madly "Wendy, what the hell-?!"

"What?" the girl just looked at Gray with an innocent look on her face which made Gray give a deep glare "Just stating the truth, brother of mine" looking back at Juvia, Wendy smiled a wide one "but you should consider it, Juvi! He's really kind, sweet, a good tickler, good at math, well, sometimes, has good cuddling skills, and can calm your nerves!! He's very good at soothing you after a dream, just ask me! Gray has done it plenty of times when the big scary dragon Acnologia appears in my dreams!"

Gray blushed an even brighter shade of red as Juvia shyly smiled back at Wendy, "Acnologia?" noticing how visibly uncomfortable Gray was, Juvia figured she try her best to relieve his embarrassment by sidetracking Wendy from the subject of her brother "what does he look like?"

"Ooooh, the dragon is scaaaaary! In fact, compared to big brother Gray, Acnologia is less handsome! Gray can even defeat the dragon, saving the princess and her maiden--Im the princess, by the way! You wouldn't want to marry the dragon, oh no no! Gray is much better!!!" that definitely was not what Juvia wanted, if truth be told. Her goal was to make the girl she swim coached stop talking about her own brother, and that wasn't what had just happened. It somehow all came back to the topic of Gray.

"T-Tell me what A-Acnologia looks like so I can be aware of him, Wendy-" Juvia asks in an 'obviously' sort of tone all flustered like.

Wendy left her mouth open in the shape of an O as Juvia deadpanned waiting for the subject of Gray to die down - but the girl too smart for her age saw past the older girls tricks "Well, Acnologia doesn't look like Gray, that's for sure. Um, he also looks like a dragon and is black and blue, just like the color of Gray's hair and your hair!! How perfect!!! Acnologia is the scariest and you two are the cutest!"

The two teens in the room blushed as red as Erza's hair, the uncomfortable air around them really showing off to the girl who was only pleasured in how awkward she had made it.

"Okay, Wendy... That's enough," another voice, thankfully, called out, breaking the uncomfortable environment as both Juvia and Gray let out a sigh of relief. Silver stood at the stairs with a serious but about-to-laugh look in his eyes as he motioned the younger girl upstairs, "let's go take a bath, shall we?"

It took a bit, but Wendy suddenly exploded "Okay!" the girl ran to the stairs and took two steps to only look back at the teens to say her farewells, "bye Juvia, bye Gray! Love you both!"

The girl ran fully up the stairs, and before Silver followed close behind, he smiled at the two blushing, them too flustered to look one another in the eyes "Sorry about that, you two..." he said with a little laugh and a wink towards his son, and with that, the older Fullbuster ran after the youngest one, getting the bath ready for the little mischevious princess of his.

After another long, uncomfortable moment of silence, Gray cleared his throat as the remainance of his blush slowly went away "sorry about that..." he apologized, looking at a spot on the wall as Juvia did the same, avoiding eye contact with the other.

"I-it's okay..." Juvia slowly said, the blush on her face burning and growing into a deeper shade, making it obvious to the girl that it was there at that moment, coloring her cheeks.

And yet another silence was left around them, causing the two to feel massive amounts of embarrassment before Gray broke the tension after his cheeks stopped flaming-

"So, uh, want me to walk you home?" Gray asked, finally gaining the courage to look at the girl without feeling a heavy feeling in his heart; and because the feeling of his eyes on her, Juvia, too, turned to look at him. She stared, gathering the response up in her mind as Gray waited eagerly for a response, hoping on the ladder of her answer.

Juvia, on any other day, would've declined the offer - she never really liked being escorted to her own home just in case her father was possibly watching through the window.

Juvia had been taken home on many occasions by other people, and almost every time, her father would be watching, waiting for the girl to arrive home to hurt and derive happiness from her - and if a friend or person was with his child, that gave him an opportunity to pull out the card of 'They're only friends with you because they feel bad for a pathetic, weak, and ugly little girl like you.' and even 'they're going to leave you soon, don't worry' and almost everytime it seemed to be true. All the people her father saw her with tended to drift apart from the girl, making Juvia believe every word her father had spoken of--but when she met Meredy, it all changed.

Meredy never failed to walk Juvia home for safety matters, and like always, Juvia's father would be watching, waiting to tell the girl the things he had told her since day 1. But, since Juvia could genuinely feel Meredy's pure friendship and devoted truth to stick with Juvia forever, she believed no word her father spoke of every time Meredy was caught walking the bluenette home. This is all how the unspoken rivalry between Dave Lockser and Meredy Maverick began - - Dave could tell Meredy was somehow making Juvia stronger, so he always sought to fight and speak more harshly towards the daughter of his, getting angrier as the days went on and realized the ineffectiveness to his tries. He hated Meredy, truth be told, really holding a grudge against the girl for helping his daughter--he really saw as a misfortune--break past his words -- needless to say, figuratively Meredy was Juvia's iron armor.

Seeing past her fear of being told many negative things from her father by remembering Meredy and how much of a tough cookie she was, Juvia saw no harm in Gray walking her home - Juvia could really just ask him to let her walk the rest of the way to her home once they got super close to the location, or even ask him to act as if they didn't know one another, walking on opposite sidewalks - so, she smiled, saying a simple ''Juvia'd love that...''

Gray felt the blush coming back once more as he saw the original Juvia he knew flash through her eyes as she spoke those words, going back to her original 3rd person speaking, but with his ability to fight it, it never showed on his face.

Juvia stood from the chair she sat on and walked towards the door, grabbing her belongings as Gray followed her out of the exit.

Once they stepped outside the cold blew past their warmed bodies, the thick smell of rain ringing through the air meaning it would be doing just that quite soon.

"Uhm, want me to drive you home? It appears that it's going to rain," Gray stated the obvious as they walked down the concrete, stopping just before Juvia made the decision.

Juvia shrugged, the sheen of water glazing over her eyes--due to her recent crying--cutely "Juvia doesn't mind walking."

And with that, the two started off for her home, though the girl really led the way since Gray had never really been to her home before. He figured it was due to the fact that her father was such a dick, abusing his daughter like she was just a sack of hay, but also maybe because the dick Lockser didn't allow it.

As the two walked comfortably in silence, Gray couldn't help but enter his mind--the question he had before rung once more like it had when her ex-friends left her, sobbing and weeping like a neglected child on the ground. Why did she not choose them? Why did she choose Gray's group? Why was the Element four not willing to open their hearts for new people? Gray just didn't understand, and before he could stop himself, he let it out "Hey, Juvia?"

The girl calmly answered back, turning her head a little to look the guy in the eyes, "Yes, Gray-Sama?"

Gray cursed himself for asking his question as they walked to Juvia's godforsaken home, but seeing as he wanted to fulfill his wish to ask, he went on with it "Why'd you choose us over them?"

The bluenette just let his words sink in, causing her to go into deep thinking as Gray awaited her response, which was taking forever. They continued to walk while Gray waited for the answer.

Truth be told, Juvia didn't know why she chose people she met 3 months prior...she just went with her gut feeling, really - but knowing she couldn't just say that to the man in front of her, she had to think of an even better response.

"Juvia guesses...its because you all are so kind to her," she says with a beaming smile, clasping her hands together as she turned to Gray to showcase the smile proudly shining and dancing on her facial features "the Element Four weren't really...supportive of Juvia at all--except for Gajeel-Kun, of course."

"Supportive?" Gray asks, pausing his walk as he raises a brow "whaddya mean?"

As soon as Gray had stopped, Juvia did too; she turned her head around, though not her entire body, and looked at him, the smile still remaining on her face "Well...they didn't appreciate Juvia's help, all they needed her for was reputation and my personality."

"So you had popularity?" Gray got even more confused, looking at the girl while his brain spun in circles "They just wanted that from you?"

"Yes...?" even Juvia was getting confused, "Juvia doesn't know how to explain it, but let's just say they didn't really appreciate Juvia's presence...Totomaru did, obviously, but the way he looked at Juvia...it wasn't in a friendship sort of way..."

Gray received a tick mark on his forehead - the way Juvia explained Totomaru and his more-than-friend sort of look towards Juvia really rubbed him in the wrong way, pissing the Magnolian off to the extent where he wanted to punch Toto's face in.

Juvia, the poor soul she was, saw Gray's anger and thought it was because of her and how she explained things - if only she knew it was jealousy that was making the man ticked off - and rushed out her next words  "W-What Juvia is trying to get at is that they did care for her, loved being her friends, but a little bit after becoming your friend, along with the others...I understood how a group of friends should've worked and should treat one another..."

Gray softened his gaze as Juvia's hair blew in the breeze, making her look like she was in a movie starring as a beautiful broken girl who needed all the love she could get. "Oh?"

She nodded her head as she clenched her hands into fists at her sides "God, I'm so stupid..." the statement shocked Gray, she was using the first person again--

Gray opened his mouth to protest in a sentimental sort of way, already having the sentence he would speak in his mind, but Juvia wasn't finished "Meredy warned me so many times for years that Totomaru, Sol, and Aria weren't good enough friends for me, and I was stupid enough to not believe that her words were true... I know now that they were the complete truth..."

Gray walked closer to Juvia and wrapped his arms around her, embracing the girl as the wind blew, making the air colder and colder. He could tell she was about to cry and he had no other option to stop the tears from shedding, so he decided at that moment to hug her.

As she returned his hug, Gray rested his forehead on the top of her head, pulling the girl as close as possible so there was no space between them "You're not stupid, Juvia... You're exactly the opposite..."

"Am I, really?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

Gray pushed the girl by her shoulders, causing her arms to untangle from around him. He kept his grip on her shoulders, keeping her an arm's length away, as he stared at her deeply in the eyes; and at that moment, the rain started dropping from the sky. "It doesn't matter if you don't believe me, I know I'd be in the same position you are in if my Father brainwashed me to think I was nothing but a stupid kid who didn't deserve light..." knowing exactly who he was referencing, Juvia looked towards the ground with a guilty look. Gray had hit it dead on... "but since I'm not and you are, I'm here to tell you that none of the words are true. You're smart, talented, and an amazing friend... Sure I've only known you for a certain amount of time, but we've been together enough for me to know that you're a great person."

Juvia's gaze snapped to Gray's as her cheeks bloomed with more pink, tears pricked at her eyes as the droplets of rain rolled down her skin, but besides that, was it just her or was Gray's face getting closer to hers?

She smiled at his kind words--she had heard the same thing from Meredy, Lyon, Gajeel, and Jellal--but worded differently--once before...meaning that if Juvia had been keeping those specific 4 by her side for this long, then Gray was a keeper as well.

The tear being bottled up at the corner of her eye finally slid down her porcelain cheek, connecting with the rain gliding down as well, but Gray wiped it away with ease, using the pad of his thumb as he removed his other hand from her shoulder, pulling her closer. "You mean it?"

"Every word," she smiled at him after those words and Gray immediately returned it, causing Juvia's heart to tha-thump in her chest - she had felt this feeling before...with a certain ex-boyfriend of hers...

Their faces moved closer and Juvia just knew they were going to kiss--and she planned not to push him away. Gray was handsome, kind, smart, a good friend, and an amazing person to go to for some cheering up--perfect candidates of Juvia's boyfriend must-haves list... She had really fallen for the guy, her rival, her enemy... the love of her life---

But--Gray had other ideas-

Before their lips could connect, Gray pulled away, embracing Juvia in a tight hug once more as Juvia embraced the hug, startled by the obvious try to avoid her lips. She soon doubted her feelings once more, forgetting them as she mentally slapped herself for believing she was about to be kissed.

Of course, she wasn't falling for a Magnolian! Who would do that...?

As the rain began pouring harder, Gray let go of their hug which had lasted 5 minutes and declared it be best for them to depart--he saw it in her eyes that she didn't want him walking her all the way home, thanks to her father, so Gray decided to only walk her halfway - which they were at.

Juvia smiled one last smile as her arms released her grip on his arms, walking around the man to the crosswalk where she'd be crossing - but before she could do so, she turned her head around to say her farewells as Gray casually turned his body around to smile at her.

"Bye, Gray-Sama...and, thanks for helping Juvia get better--You and our other friends."

"Don't mention it, I'm always glad to help" he said so with a slight head nod and brow raise, causing the pink in the bluenettes cheeks to bloom cutely; the way she looked in the rain matched the description of her in water--looking as if some princess in her natural element.

Gray waved his hand goodbye and Juvia returned it as she started to walk across the street, Gray standing and watching to make sure the girl was safe. Once she was on the other side, Gray showed a smile before turning to return back to his home.

As he walked he couldn't help but blush and smile to himself, stuffing his cold hands into his pockets as the rain wetted his hair. Juvia really was such a great person, she surely deserved better than her Father and Element Four friends.

He made it clear then and there in his mind that he would protect the girl from harm no matter what--whether it be to start a fight with the Element Four to back off from Juvia or any other guy who even thought as to hurt the girl just like Bora had done, he'd do it. He'd make sure the guy, or girl, wasn't allowed to even look at Juvia ever again--

He'd do anything to protect her smile - and even her heart.

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Okay! For any who don't follow me I recently changed my updating schedule; Chapters for this book will now be released every other week on either Friday's or Saturday's (occasional chapters every week will likely happen) due to school being so fricken hard all of the sudden! Super sorry...I can't control it 😔.

Anyway! Did you like the chapter? I hope so!!!

Have a good rest of the day 😊

~Also if you don't read my 'About Your Author Book', I updated it recently due to the fact that it was our Juvia's birthday! Make sure to go read that chapter for some Juvia appreciation 😉~

T

hanks for voting and reading this FanFic (shout out to you if you're still here!!!) 😘😊

And, look!! 69 votes!! 😂 😂

Thanks a bunches ❤️💕
-Candies

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