Regret
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Erza stepped in her house, face weary and fingers trembling. "I'm home," She whispered to no one in particular. With a heavy sigh, she locked the door to her house and dropped her bag on the floor. On the way to the stairs, she allowed her jacket to fall off her shoulders and her dress shirt to drop to the floor, leaving her in a white tank top and her school skirt.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and entered her room. She fell back on her bed and she closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Why did she ever love Jellal? Why did she feel happy when Lucy was shot? Why was she still happy that she's in coma? When was she ever that evil to feel glad that someone she knew was half dead? She could imagine Jellal's disregarded face, asking her why she felt those things, asking her why she would think that.

Her shoulders started shaking violently, sobs escaping her lips. She covered her face with her hands, sniffing. She could hear his voice, telling her he was disappointed at how she acted. He was going to tell her that he would never love her for what she did. She could hear him say it so clearly.

"I'm very disappointed in you."

Erza released a loud shuddering cry, feeling her chest squeeze. Why was she smiling when Lucy suddenly jumped in front of Jellal? Why was she whispering her thanks to the blonde when her eyes closed? Why was she hoping that he would love her now that Lucy was absent? How could she ever think that when she knew that Jellal loved Lucy dearly? And why would he ever love her back for thinking of those things?

With another scream of frustration, the redhead threw the picture frame on her nightstand to the floor and it shattered in pieces. She curled her fingers in her scarlet locks, hearing his voice louder and clearer. He was telling her that she was horrible. He was telling her that she was despicable. She wasn't worthy of his friendship.

She writhed on the bed and the half of her body fell down. Her head hit the floor and she saw something. She tried to lift her head and when she did; her sobs grew louder once again. Jellal and Erza had their arms around each other, a wide grin on their faces. On the lower right corner of the picture, there was a message.

"You're a great friend, Erza."

No, she wasn't.

With that thought stuck in her head, the redhead's body landed on the floor with a thud and she fell asleep.

Gray used the crutch to get to his house and he fumbled to find his keys. He found them and quickly unlocked the door to his house. He stepped inside and was grateful to find it empty. He locked the door and stayed there for a while, listening to the pounding of his heart. His bangs fell over his eyes and he felt the temperature rise.

Seconds later, he stood with only his boxers and his bandaged leg being supported by a crutch. He heard dogs barking and crickets humming. Then, the ticking of the clock was loud and clear, each tick clicking in his ears and matching with the beating of his heart. He shakily raised his free hand and stared at it. He could still see the gun in his hands and the way his fingers pulled the trigger. He could still picture the moment when the bullet spiraled out of the gun and hit Lucy's chest, barely missing her heart. He could see the way her eyes widened and her body dropped to the floor.

He could read her lips moving, begging him to not shoot. He heard her yell but didn't listen to her. He could remember everything, from when Lucy apologized silently that she couldn't love him back to when Jellal's tears mixed with hers. Now, he could hear nothing but words of disappointment and hate directed towards him.

"Why did you shoot Lucy? I thought you loved her!"

He closed his eyes, jaw tense.

"You don't deserve her love, bastard!"

He released a choking breath and slowly walked in the hallway to his room, wincing at the pain in his leg.

"If you think that Jellal will forgive you for this, you're wrong."

Once he was seated on his bed, sobs rocketed through his body. Tears never ceased to fall and even though he was wiping them away continuously, they were still cascading down his cheeks.

"She loved him, Gray."

Gray yelled in frustration and his voice echoed, bouncing off the walls and returning to his ears. He released another deafening yell and he clutched his head, trying to get rid of the voices in his head though he knew that he couldn't.

"Accept your defeat."

"I can't help it if I love her!" The man roared, his throat aching and his ears popping. When he realized that he wasn't really talking to anyone, his eyes widened in fear and he pulled his hair, Jellal's voice loud and clear in his head.

"Let's be friends, Gray."

He made a terrible mistake. If Jellal didn't befriend him, he wouldn't have had shot Lucy. If Jellal didn't ask him to be his friend, he wouldn't have met Lucy and wouldn't have fallen in love with her. Gray shouldn't have allowed himself to be friends with the bluenette. If he hadn't said yes, Lucy would be safe, sleeping soundly in her bed with Jellal in her mind. Why did he decide to shoot Jellal? Why did he think of it? Why hadn't he just decline Minerva's offer and accept defeat?

"Why did you do it?"

Gray looked up at Loke who stared at him with disappointed eyes. The raven-haired man didn't look away.

"I was jealous."

That's right. He was jealous that Jellal had Lucy's love and that he didn't. He was jealous that Lucy loved Jellal. He was jealous when they kissed in the hallway. He was jealous that they held hands. He wanted to be the one who kissed her, who held her hand and who they called her boyfriend. He was jealous of their love for each other and he wanted to break them apart.

That's why.

With his cheeks and lower eyelids stinging from his tears, he stared at his ceiling and found himself crying all over again. He could hear Lucy telling him that she hated him for attempting to shoot Jellal. And with that image in his mind, he drifted to sleep.

He sat in the middle of a dark room. There was no sound, no movement and no light. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. Where was he, anyway?

From a distance, there were two people, bodies glowing. They were holding hands, faces grim as they approached the raven-haired man. From then, he could hear something. He could hear a gun firing and voices yelling. He could hear thudding footsteps and loud cries. The sound of an ambulance and nurses running was clear in his ears.

What happened?

Lucy stepped in front of him, face void of emotions. She was gripping Jellal's hand tightly, a big bloody stain on her dress. There was dried blood on her chin and her eyes were tired. Beside her, Jellal was looking down at him with a blank face just like hers. He looked exhausted, with disheveled hair and brown weary eyes. Yet his hold on Lucy's hand was tight and strong.

"Gray," Lucy said.

The said man looked up and he heard his name tumble off the walls, repeating over and over like a never-ending echo.

"Gray," Jellal murmured.

His voice too had echoed repeatedly, making Gray clutching his head, trying to get rid of the resounding sounds.

"Why did you do it?" They both asked. Lucy tilted her head to the side and he stared at his reflection in her eyes. He saw himself in such a sorry state, with a bleeding leg and black lines under his eyes. The bluenette was looking down at him with cold eyes and his glare asked the same thing.

Why did he do it?

Reluctantly, Gray opened to say something but was frightened to find that nothing came out of his mouth. He tried to scream but no sound was made. He held his throat, wide fear-filled eyes glancing at Lucy's dull orbs and Jellal's hard ones. A small smile appeared on the blonde's face, "Are you scared, Gray?"

The man nodded hesitantly and Jellal spoke with a low, husky and fearful tone, "Then you know now how I felt when you shot her."

"That's right," Lucy said, smiling wickedly, "You shot me."

"You shot her," Jellal spat, "You shot her!"

Lucy's smile dropped and her wide eyes stared down at him tauntingly, "You almost killed him."

"You nearly took her away," Jellal whispered, his face mirroring hers.

"You deserve to die," She said, laughing suddenly.

Jellal's chuckles joined hers, "You deserve to suffer!"

Gray trembled in fear and he covered his ears, mouth hanging open as he tried to scream. But when he tried to block out the sounds of their voices, they only grew louder and louder. He whipped his head sideways while he tried to yell, the pain in his leg suddenly intensifying. A silent prayer went past his lips when Lucy raised her hand, holding a knife.

"I hate you," She said.

Jellal held a knife like her, "I hate you."

"I hate you," Lucy once again said, her voice louder this time as she raised her hand higher.

"I hate you," The bluenette mused, twirling the knife in her hand.

Gray gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his cheeks. He buried his face in his hands, not wanting to see Lucy and Jellal's intertwined hands. But he couldn't do anything to block the sounds entering his ears. No, their voices were loud and clear.

"I hate you."

And they stabbed him.