Chapter Text
The stormy scent of the pelting rain laced with the sweet aroma of the earth carved in her mind, thus painting a gloomy ending for her last year of training camp experience. Throughout her existence, the rain had always chaperoned her as if she was its lady, there were times that it felt comforting as if she resonated with it; most of the time, it was the stifling curse of her life.
Her mother sought solace in the gentle melody of the rain cascading down the rich surface of the Earth when she was first introduced into this world, thus gifting her the name Juvia which means rain in her native language. That agonizing night where her father almost tainted his hands red with her blood, the harsh drops of the rain continue ringing in her ears, high-pitched cries for help being hushed down by the lightning and thunders booming in the sky.
Oh boy, the rain had always been there for her through thick and thin; a constant reminder that she was alive, and after a heavy downpour awaits a mesmerizing band of colors and blooming flowers.
“Rain, rain, go away,” the nursery rhyme escaped from her pinkish lips, spreading out her palm to the gloomy heavens, catching the drops from the sky as she continue to sing, “Come again another day.”
“You’ve got a nice voice,” rang a familiar behind her, she whirled around as her blue eyes widen at the sight of Gray walking towards her on his simple black shirt with his varsity jacket slung over his shoulder.
“Gray!” she exclaimed his name, a shade of roses dusting her fair cheeks as she paced around, continuously shaking her head from left to right which resulted in her luscious waves dancing with the cruel wind. “Gray didn’t hear Juvia singing a nursery rhyme, alright?” afterward, she goes on and on about how her reputation is now tarnished.
Gray closed the distance between him and the troubled girl, speaking without having second thoughts about his use of phrases, “Hey, stop being dramatic.” He rested his palms on her shoulders, thus resulting her to halt her actions as his words sink into her mind.
Her fragile heart twisted in pain as the familiar feeling of hurt slowly seeps inside her, despite that feeling, she masked her agony with a graceful smile on her pink lips as she took a step backward from him. “Juvia was just joking,” her voice came out meek as she waited for his apology, that maybe he would realize his peculiar choices of words, yet it was proven to be in vain due to the next words that came out of his mouth.
“What are you doing here?”
Juvia averted her gaze to the water-stained cobalt stones as the melancholy feeling haunted her, “Juvia’s waiting for the rain to stop so she can go to the parking lot.”
“I was also heading there,” Gray held out his palm open towards the sky painted in charcoal, pools of glacial blue watching intently at the tumbling of the water droplets against his hand. “Hey, do you want to run towards the parking lot?” he spoke after a moment of silence, removing his jacket from his shoulder.
“Eh? But we don’t have an—“ before she could even finish her sentence, the hockey captain placed his forefinger against her pink lips which forbid her from talking.
“I got this, come on!” he circled his long fingers around her wrist as his free hand held his jacket above their heads, serving as their shed from the onslaught of the rain.
The fire of adrenaline burning up inside the gorgeous lady, she did not hesitate to dash together with him towards the parking lot. The droplets of the rain made her ivory skin tingle in delight as her boots clash against the thin mud, almost making her slip had Gray failed to haul her slender body against him. Fits of childish laughter escaped from her sweet lips from her almost mishap — nothing safe is worth the drive.
“That was fun, thank you!” Juvia beamed as they halt by the door of a lemon-colored school bus with her schoolmates screaming bloody murder at each other, the pungent odor of weed mixed with sweet-scented perfume produced a queasy feeling in her stomach.
“Yeah.”
“See you around?” the blue-haired girl tilted her head, unconsciously placing her forefinger at the side of her lips as a cute smile was plastered on her serene face, introducing a light hue of red on Gray’s cheeks. She climbed the first step of the stair before facing the flustered male once again, waving goodbye.
“Wait!” Gray fished out his brand new phone from his pockets, holding out the device to the girl in front of him who looked at him a bit perplexed by his actions. “Can I have your number?” he spoke in a hoarse voice.
Run.
“Hmm,” her fingers clicked some digits on his phone screen.
Maybe not.
The only thing she could let out from her lips was a simple hum, unable to trust her voice since there’s a chance that she would decline and say ‘no’; a phrase, too familiar for her mouth when it comes to men and this kind of circumstances — if she refused now, she’d hate that forever.
From the moment that Gray walked into that golden-hued kitchen; she knew that he was trouble — treading between the dangerous path of green and red flags. However, as someone with caring nature, she had always favored the rose-dusted road traveled by many — safe and sound. She knew where this was heading, the finish line was uncertain; she might be a victor or a loser, despite the precarious ending, she’d love to stride the treacherous slope ahead with him.
Unbeknownst to the couple, a pair of ruby irises behind those soft strands of indigo watched the scene unfold with an indecipherable emotion dancing in her eyes.