Chapter 2: Enter Lucy Heartfilia

"Gray, Juvia, dinners ready!" Lucy yelled from the kitchen. Juvia struggled to get up from the cloud of a bed that Lucy gave her. The bed was doing wonders on her sore muscles that she got from swimming. She went out the door at the same time Gray did, they both smiled at each other and then started down the hallway to find Lucy in the kitchen next to the living room. The walls were painted a brilliant yellow color that wasn't too straining on the eyes. There was an island in the middle of the kitchen with a mixture of grey and black granite, with a wooden frame. The table where they were going to eat at was cherry wood that was painted white to look like ivory, and there were three chairs of Victorian design.

"I'm really not the best chef in the world, but I do know a few recipes that I can perform really well. The rest of the time, I just order out." Lucy said. On the table were crab cakes with a side of steamed peas. There was also a pot of mashed potatoes and a simple vegetable and beef stew dotted with cooked Brussel sprouts. (I didn't know what to put, so I just put one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes). In the middle of the table was evenly sliced bread with butter on the side. The sight made the college student's mouths mentally drool.

"It is more than enough, Juvia thanks you. We are lucky that you made so much, Gray-sama eats a lot." Juvia said giggling. Gray chuckles and ruffles her hair as they both sit down.

"Thanks for the food Lucy!" Gray says as he starts to dig in. Juvia and Lucy sweat drop.

"So when are you two starting class?" Lucy asks, trying to start a conversation.

"Next week on Tuesday. We still have to get some stuff ready and the orientation is the day after tomorrow at around two." Juvia said, digging into her mashed potatoes. She smiles in content as she ate, and Lucy couldn't feel happier.

The rest of the dinner was spent talking and laughing. Juvia and Gray told her about all of their friends and Lucy told them about what Magnolia High was like now, because they were only there last year. Apparently they upped the standards so it would be harder to get into the top universities. Lucy was anxious about that, but she didn't let it show. Lucy told them about her love for writing and video production. She says she makes videos all the time.

When they finished, Gray, being the gentleman he is * cough *, went to do the dishes for Lucy.

"Just to let you guys know, I have to go to school tomorrow, so are you guys going to be fine here on your own?" Lucy asked. Juvia told her not to worry. Magnolia High starts their school in September, and it was Sunday.

"Hey Lucy!" Gray called from the kitchen. He came out holding a beautiful wooden guitar. "Is this yours?" Gray asked while strumming a few chords.

"No, I don't even know how to play." Lucy said with a slight laugh, even though she was a bit less cheery than usual. "That is my mother's guitar." Lucy said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Gray said, about to set it down when Lucy stopped him.

"No, you can have it. It is better that someone plays it than waiting for it to collect dust." Lucy said. Juvia started to notice her frown a bit. Lucy started to walk down the hall again when Gray started to talk again.

"But won't your mother care?" He asked with a worried expression. Lucy seemed to freeze and tense up. She slowly turned towards the two.

"My mother passed away when I was ten." She said with a downcast expression.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that." Gray said. Lucy shot him a look, telling him that it was okay.

"Excuse Juvia for prying, but what about your father?" Juvia asked. The look Gray had signified that he wanted to know too.

"I-I... I don't live with him anymore." Lucy said as she turned back to the direction she was facing and started back down the hall leaving a surprised Gray and a sad Juvia in the living room.

The next morning was bright and refreshing. The sunlight glowed off of the yellow kitchen walls as Gray was sitting on one of the chairs eating his favorite cereal, without a shirt. Apparently, he and Lucy shared favoritism towards Very Berry Clusters. Lucy came into the kitchen already dressed in her uniform - which consisted of a knee-length black and white pleated skirt, a white sailor shirt with a dusk green tie, a pair of black dress shoes, and knee-length light grey socks. She looked at Gray and her eyes widened before she turned around while blushing a little.

"Gray Fullbuster, you better put on a shirt right now!" Lucy said in a menacing tone. Gray looks down at his chest to find the shirt that he remembered falling asleep in gone. He hastily put down his bowl of cereal and raced passed Lucy. Screaming something like 'Dammit, not again!' Juvia came into the kitchen a moment later giggling with a blushing red face.

"Juvia will never get used to that." Juvia said fangirling. Lucy just rolled her eyes as she took an orange from the fruit bowl.

"I'll eat this on my way, I have to leave right now or I'm going to be late. See ya!" Lucy said as she gave Juvia a quick hug before she burst out the door. Gray came back a few minutes later, luckily with a shirt on.

"Where's Lucy?" He asked as he picked up his cereal and started eating again.

"She left a few minutes ago because she said that she would be late if she didn't." Juvia said. She hesitated before saying, "She acted like nothing happened last night. Juvia hope we didn't hurt her feelings." She says with a downcast expression. Gray ran a hand through his spiky raven locks and gave a deep sigh. He didn't mean to offend her in any way, but judging by the way she was acting, she seemed to be over it.

"Yeah, I don't want to upset her." Gray said.

"Hey, Juvia is going to hang out with Erza-san today. Would Gray-sama like to come?" Juvia asked.

Gray smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I would love to, but I can't today. I'm going to go visit Natsu. That idiot really needs me right now." Gray said while looking straight into her eyes. Juvia nodded in understanding before going to get ready. Gray just sat back down in the Victorian- style chair and finished off the milk in his bowl before putting it in the sink. He looked out the window to see that it was a fairly cold day with a cloudy sky. Gray wondered why God made such a gloomy color. He wondered why God made the air cold, even though it was his favorite type of weather.

He wondered why God made his best friend suffer.