Author's Note: Hi! Sorry I haven't been updating anymore. Been busy with other stories. Here's an update! ^-^

**

"Good morning, Juvia." Erza smiled sweetly at me. Woah. Just take a good look at Erza right now. What's with her dreamy face right now? It's creepy! She never had a face like this. Rather, her face was always stern and strict looking. For now, it's unusual to see her like this.

"Good morning."

"So.. I have a good news for you."

I quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at her, "Oh, really? What is it?"

"Jellal is now my boyfriend! Great, right?" I couldn't be more happier, was what I wanted to say. Sorry, I don't care about those kinds of things. It was obvious she liked Jellal for quite a long time now. For me, it's just a surprising news. Not a good one for me.

"I see. Congratulations!" I responsed, trying to be nice. It was really close to sarcasm, I'd tell you that much. The reason I was like that was because I find it hard to be cheerful today. I feel like.. something bad is gonna happen. I don't really know. It's just a feeling, so meh.

"Thanks!" she happily said. Suddenly, she turned serious. "I have a bad news for you. Well, for me it's not." Is this the reason I can't be cheerful today? Because of this bad news?

“What is it?” I inquired, my voice filled with curiosity. I’m having a bad feeling about this, I swear.

She crossed her arms. “I have already decided your next step. To tell you the truth, I have decided on it long ago. But to not make your curiosity grow, I’ll tell you what to do next.”

A big lump formed in my throat. I got very nervous for some reason. “Oh-kay. That better be something good and not hard.”

“Step 3: Be his Girlfriend. Gray’s girlfriend. Not in a way wherein you will be Gray's friend that is a girl. You'll be in a relationship with him, dear."

Her statement gave me the chills. So unexpected. Just what the hell is she thinking, anyways? I could never do that! I've never been into a relationship, not even once! My parents don't allow me to have a boyfriend.

"Woah there," I stopped her, raising my hands with wide eyes. "You just can't do that. My parents don't allow me to have a boyfriend. You know that, Erza. You were there when mom told me about that rule."

Erza fixed her glasses. "I know. But, seriously? That was waaaay back then! Back when we were kids! I couldn’t remember how old I was that time! What I know is that we were still little kids that time! Juvia, your parents had allowed you to have your boyfriend already. Remember your sweet sixteen?” Memories from my sweet sixteen came back in a flash to me. Wow. I’m impressed that she still remembered that day.

“Okay, you’re not wrong on that one.... but I don’t want a boyfriend! Any dare would do, just not that kind of dare!” I protested like a little kid who lost her chocolate.

"You will still do my dares, trust me. It's a dare, right? Besides, it's not for a very long time. It's not eternal. It's only for a short period of time." she told me, shrugging.

"No. Any dare. Any dare would do. But not those kinds of dares." I insisted, shaking my head rapidly.

She had this snide smirk on her face that I didn't like. Well, I never liked it. "Whether you like it or not, you'll have to. Or else...."

I huffed and challenged her. "Or else what?"

"Say hello to rumors," oh no. She will never show to anyone that picture.

“When did you get that?”

“The last time I visited your house. Uhm, last month? Or last Christmas? Something like that. But meh, who cares? So, will you do the dare or not?” she’s blackmailing me! This girl.. she really knows how to test my patience. That’s why I hated having friends.

She only threatened me that she’ll show around a picture of me making funny faces (you’ll never want to know what kind of faces I made there). I, Juvia Lockser, never made those faces again ever since grade 4. I don’t want my reputation to be ruined in a second with those pictures.

"Well....?" She really knew how to push my buttons.

"Okay, fine. What will I do?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you were the ones who told me about my dare."

"Just make him your boyfriend! Simple! Ask him out!" she elaborated exasperatedly. "Anyways, gotta run. I've got a lot of things to do. You've got a month to complete that task, 'kay? About the date when you'll break up with him.. I still don't know. I'll think about it." She stalked off.

I was left there, sulking. Why does life have to be this hard? Why is Erza my bestfriend? Why did I play I Dare You with her? There were so many questions that was running through my head because of all of this frustration I was getting from Erza and her dare.

Now, I feel so rueful about everything.

It was partly my fault. I loved the game so much because most of the time I won. But I never thought that Erza would beat me. Not once, but twice. On the second time, my hell began. What the hell will I do now? The fault has been done. I couldn't do anything about it.

I wish I wasn’t boastful. If I wasn’t boastful, I’m sure Erza will be more kind to me. I’m sure she’ll give me only one dare. But I wasn’t, so I must face my consequences.

Real talk. I sound sappy and over-dramatic. I can be an actress in my state.

I therefore conclude that my hunch was right. I wasn’t going to have a good day today. My luckiness went down – 75%. My chance of being happy is so low that maybe I'll shout in happiness. Note the sarcasm.

I walked towards the café with my head down.

“Woah, dude. Watch where you’re–oh hey. It’s you.” I glanced up and saw that it was Gray who bumped into me. “What’re you doing? Why is your head down?”

I turned red when I remembered my deal with Erza. “No! Please! I don’t want to!” I said. Oops, it looked like I had a monologue. Gray, bewildered by my actions, raised his eyebrows at me.

“Huh?”

“Oh! Uh, nothing.” I replied awkwardly. I tried to act cute in front of him. Ugh. Disgusting. Juvia Lockser is trying to look cute in front of Gray Fullbuster. So much for me having pride.

“I.. gotta go. See ‘ya around.” he told me, weirded out by what I did. He stalked off, which made me a little relieved. It was hard to be friends with him with Erza’s dare swirling around my head!

“I couldn’t do this anymore.” I groaned, covering my face.

“Hey.” I saw Lyon smiling at me awkwardly. Another awkward situation. Talk about luck.

“Hey back,” I replied. “How’s life?” I inquired, just to make the atmosphere more comfortable.

“Fine as always. What about you?”

“Okay as well....” it’s not. It’s definitely not fine.

After I answered his question, the awkward atmosphere came back. I bit my lip. I needed to get out of there, fast. “See you around, I guess?” I queried.

He looked into my eyes, his orbs glistening with hope. Poor guy. I don’t want to give him false hope. “Yeah, see you.”

I walked away, heaving a sigh. It wasn’t like I was being rude. I care for the guy, actually. He’s a very kind person, in my perspective. You couldn’t find guys like that everywhere. Guys like that are endangered!

**

“Maybe that’s the reason. She likes you, I think?” My ears perked up. I didn’t know why, but my instincts told me that that line might help me in my dare. I hid myself behind a wall.

“I don’t know, dude. But sometimes, I’m getting that feeling sometimes. Maybe she really likes me.”

“Raku!” a blond girl greeted the guy with navy blue hair.

“Ch-Chitoge! Hi!” the guy greeted.

The boy with light brown hair whispered to the one named Raku, “Here she is.” So, the girl named Chitoge was the one they were talking about, huh?

“Shuu, can you please go away for a sec? I’m gonna chat with Raku. It’s only for a little while, don’t worry.” Raku and the guy named Shuu looked at each other. Raku nodded and Shuu went away.

Raku cleared his throat, “Uhm, what were you gonna tell me?”

“I like you, Raku.” Wow. Straight to the point. So I’m watching a confession in here. Like a drama series. The guy had his eyes wide. He blushed furiously.

“W-What?”

“I said I like you.”

I walked away. My eyes and ears couldn’t take it. It was too much.

So that’s how you confess to a guy you like. I think that’s the first step on how to make a guy your boyfriend. But what’s the next step after that?

Gah! Whatever! I’m just gonna tell him I like him and ask him to be my boyfriend!

**

This is absolutely ridiculous. I’m wearing an ice blue skater skirt that’s reaching only above my knees. My legs feel so cold. I wore a tube (with jacket) and white rubber shoes as well.

I went to school, feeling uncomfortable with all the stares I was getting from students, especially the boys. I tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, ignoring the stares.

I’ve got an idea.

I grabbed a pen and a paper from my bag and wrote:

Gray,

  Meet me at the park later, dismissal time.

Sincerely,
Your Secret Admirer

I put the paper inside Gray’s locker. How did I know where to locate Gray’s locker? Every locker had names in it. There’s no lock, so I easily opened it.

I went to class as quickly as I could. My plan better work.

I waited for school to end anxiously. I never showed up to him when it was our recess and lunch, not even once. I honestly wanted time to be slow. I was too nervous for my sake. I don’t want to confess to someone like Gray Fullbuster, okay? For now, he’s just my friend. Isn’t it too fast if I told him that I like him and ask him to be my boyfriend?

The bell rang, signalling that it was dismissal time. I was so sure that Gray had read the letter already. My torture will begin in a few minutes, at the park. I had goosebumps all over my skin, thinking about his surprised reaction.

I went to the park. There, I saw Gray sitting at the bench, holding the paper I gave him. This is now or never.

I slowly walked over to him. “Gray.” I called his attention. When he saw me standing in front of him, his jaw dropped.

“Wow, is that you?” he asked, disbelieving the sight in front of him. “I’ve never seen you wear those kinds of clothes before. What happened and why are you wearing those kinds of clothes today?” he inquired, peering at me.

I sighed, waving my hands as a sign that he should dismiss the topic. I sat beside him. I don’t know where to start. He lifted an eyebrow at me inquisitively. “Don’t sit there. I’m waiting for someone.” he reprimanded me. Sure, he would never assume nor think that it was me who gave him the letter. He would never think of me as his secret admirer. It’s expected, apparently.

I chose to stay quiet and gathered all the courage I still have to tell him that I was the one who gave him the letter and to tell him that I was his secret admirer. In short, to confess to him. Apart from that, I’m going to ask him to be my boyfriend. Seriously, it’s very hard, I’d tell you that much.

“Hey—”

Taking a deep breath, I spoke, “I like you, Gray.” There. I’ve told him what I’ve been practicing for straight six hours.

He stared at me blankly like I was a foreigner. It was like he didn’t understand a thing I said.

“I like you, Gray.” I repeated, slowly this time. I tried my very best to maintain a serious expression. It was hard, with him having this undecipherable expression.

“Of course you like me! You like to be my friend!” he burst out laughing. A hearty laugh. I thought he wasn’t serious—I thought he was only trying to make the atmosphere comfortable and not awkward, but no. He was serious. He thought I liked him to be my friend.

Truly, that was what I wanted to imply. But not now. I was in a different situation, currently speaking.

I facepalmed. He was even dumber than I thought. “No,” he stopped laughing and his face paled. “I mean, as a girl liking a guy.” he shut up the moment I said that. I wanted to laugh at the very moment because of his expression, but if I did, my plan would be ruined. And I wouldn’t want that to happen.

“Gray, will you be my boyfriend?” That was it. My final blow. I know it was awkward. The guy must be the one asking that question to the girl, not the other way around. But meh, who cares, right? It’s the modern life. Things change.

My eyes widened at what Gray had answered, “So you’re my secret admirer. Sure. I don’t mind.”

**

Author’s Note (again): SURPRISE! Long chapter. Gihee. And AHHHH!! For me, this is the greatest chapter I have typed so far! What do you think? Comment below! It makes me motivated to write more if you tell me what you think.