CLOUDBURST

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by xoxoPigTails

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Chapter 06

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Juvia slid her headphones into her ears and put her Fairy Tail playlist on Shuffle. Then she began the long trek across campus to her chemistry lecture hall (specifically, hall 104) located in a building labeled on the school map as "NAV." (She had absolutely no idea what the NAV stood for.)

The dining hall and dormitory were encircled by cobblestone pathways lined by pine trees and trimmed grasses. Juvia took the shortest cobblestone path, her shoes tapping lightly against the cemented pebbles under them. To her left, Juvia saw a student sitting on a bench, with a squirrel standing by his feet, eagerly waiting for him to drop some of his breakfast. A busy street separated the dormitories from the academic buildings, so Juvia waited until the coast was clear to cross the street.

Students such as herself hurried along, some alone, some in packs. Some were laden down by backpacks and totes and gym bags; others opted for carrying a binder, a purse, or nothing at all. Juvia passed the fountains, where some students lounged already by the small man-made pond, and then she passed the library, a huge structure that she was eager to explore. She passed several other buildings, and as someone whizzed by her on a bicycle, she looked after them somewhat longingly.

Juvia should have brought a bicycle, she thought. It would make getting to this class a lot faster. But, as the walkways congested with more students heading to and from large lecture sections, she realized it might not be any easier navigating the sidewalks, per se.

By the time she reached the NAV building, she'd listened to exactly 9 minutes 40 seconds of Fairy Tail songs. (Because, of course, 4:00 plus 3:38 plus half of Perfect~Right was 9 minutes 40 seconds.) Juvia reluctantly removed her earbuds and headed inside.

Her tour the other day with Gajeel had revealed that lecture hall 104 was at the end of the curved main hall, and they had discovered that its double doors opened up to a large lecturing room with uncomfortable-looking yellow upholstery.

She would save a spot for Gajeel, who would undoubtedly arrive a little early. Although he looked the type to not care for classes, Juvia knew firsthand how dedicated her friend was to his studies. He took his courses as seriously as he did his future career, and gave it everything he had. He took god-awful notes, but he was always able to tell exactly what would be on an exam, which meant their study sessions were always brief and productive.

Juvia paused in her movements to head into the lecture hall. There were several students standing quietly in the wide hallway outside the room, fiddling with their phones and carrying on soft-spoken conversation. And as she strained her ears, Juvia picked up the sounds of a man, muffled by the door, who sounded as if he was speaking slowly... Like he was giving a lecture.

Juvia glanced at her phone. 10:11 AM. It was still too early for her professor to be giving a lecture; her class didn't start until 10:30. She deduced that this was the tail end of the lecture before hers. She thus looked around, found an empty space along the wall, and settled in, leaning against it. After another glance around, she put her headphones back in and thought about the rest of the day to come.

So, since Gajeel was in this class with her, and Juvia herself was very adept at math and science, chemistry was going to be a breeze. That was a relief. Since Lucy was an English major, Juvia felt she'd lucked out in that regard, too. They would be able to proofread each other's essays and talk about reading assignments before class. Sharing a room meant they'd have plenty of opportunities to work on assignments together.

The only course she didn't have a friend in today was meteorology. But that didn't matter. Juvia was confident in her skills and knowledge-base for weather patterns and water currents. She was excited for meteorology, anyways. It would be her most interesting class, and as a future meteorologist, she was going to pay extra attention to it.

As she waited outside, one of her favorite Fairy Tail songs - one with a guitar solo for Gray, so of course, it had to be one of her favorites - came on, and she couldn't help but smile. Natsu took off like a jackrabbit, singing loud and fast. Erza harmonized with him on the bridge and chorus, and then - Juvia felt her heart tighten with anticipation - then Gray slammed on his guitar, playing with the confidence and skill that earned him and his band the #1 spot on the music charts when this single came out two years ago.

She'd watched the live music awards performance of this on television, one rainy day when her world was falling apart, and she could still recall how enraptured she was by it all: Erza's fiery red hair flying as she banged on the drums, Natsu's bubblegum pink head bobbing as he howled into the mic, Cana's head thrown back as she kept pace on the bass, Elfman's delicate keyboarding a stark contrast to his bulky figure.

Compared to the others, Gray Fullbuster was easy to miss, with black hair and a plain shirt and jeans. His electric guitar was dark blue and simple, with no embellishments besides the simple Fairy Tail emblem on its side. But then suddenly it was time for his solo, and Gray stepped forward.

Juvia had never really understood the word star-struck until then, when Gray Fullbuster took center stage, and suddenly it made sense, and she couldn't look away. Everything about him demanded her attention; and everything around her faded away as he became her only focus. The way his brows knit in concentration as his fingers flew across the strings, the way his whole body rocked like he was being moved from the inside, the way his face lit up as he finally took a step back to rejoin his bandmates in the final chorus...

Juvia had been breathless and awed, unable to tear her gaze away, and ever since then, since that moment Gray had shone on-stage, she'd only fallen more in love with Fairy Tail's cool lead guitarist.

(It didn't hurt that he yanked his shirt off the moment the song ended, either.)

Juvia was unprepared for the flood of students that came out when the lecture before hers ended. They streamed out the doors, filling the hallway as they went, and it was all Juvia could to to stand up and press herself against the wall. Gradually, the flow petered out to a trickle, and it was then that Juvia was able to shoulder her way into the lecture hall.

The simple white walls were accented with wooden corner pillars, which Juvia thought would have looked alright if not for the obnoxiously ugly yellow curtains draped along the back wall of the hall. The room itself was expansive: the class capacity was 400 students, but Juvia guessed that over 500 could easily fit inside, with room to spare.

The floor was pitched, and the stairs were wooden and well-worn, scraped by years of use and abuse. The seats and desks were in similar conditions, but it was far more pronounced on the chairs because of their mustard-colored upholstery. Still, the lighting was good, and as Juvia took a seat in one of the front rows, she found the chairs to be quite comfortable. She placed her bag beside her, and unloaded a notebook and a pencil.

Now, she waited. She turned around in her chair and watched as other students filled the seats. Most gravitated towards the middle section, but Juvia soon found herself with plenty of company around her. But she kept her eyes peeled for Gajeel, and when she spotted him enter, she stood and waved.

"Here!" she called to him above the chatter in the room. It was impossible to miss her friend; he was tall, towering over many of the students around him, but it was his messy mop of black hair that Juvia always found easiest to pick out from a crowd. He'd opted to tie it back today with a hairband, keeping it mostly out of his face, but it was ling and bushy and unmistakeable to her nonetheless.

His head turned towards the sound of her voice, and when he caught sight of her waving arms, he ambled over, taking the spot beside her after she'd cleared it of her things.

"Got a pencil?" he asked gruffly. His smirk betrayed his tone. Gajeel wasn't a morning person, but even he was always pleasant on the first day of school. Juvia giggled.

"You didn't think to finally buy one?" she asked teasingly, but nonetheless slid a pencil onto his desk. Gajeel's smirk turned into a full-blown smile. In elementary school, Gajeel and Juvia had sat next to each other, and he'd asked the same question. Years later, after he'd moved away and then returned, he'd intentionally sat next to her in any class they shared, knowing he could rely on her for school supplies and good conversation.

Gajeel made a noncommittal grunting sound, then pulled a notebook from his backpack. Juvia laughed. "Traffic was bad and I left late."

"I see." Juvia tilted her head. "Did Natsu delay you?"

"Actually, yeah, he did." Gajeel shook his head. "He's dumb and kept running back inside to grab shit he forgot." At Juvia's questioning glance, he elaborated. "For classes. He's a music major."

"Oh!" Juvia had almost forgotten that fact. Natsu had made headlines last month when he let slip that he was attending university. Exactly which one had been kept closely hidden, out if respect for his safety and privacy... Until now, apparently. "How exciting!"

And it really was. Juvia could imagine it now! Dressing in daring evening gowns and attending concerts in Magnolia's music hall, coyly acting surprised to be seated beside Gray Fullbuster, who had come to support his friend; being introduced to all the other members in attendance, and laughing as Cana made an offhand joke about Gray losing his pants; applauding Natsu's solo performance with gusto, catching Gray's eyes and sharing a meaningful look; and stealing into a hidden hallway backstage, where Gray would admit his instant attraction to her, pulling her close and glancing down at her lips...

Juvia swooned.

"Oi, Juvia!" Gajeel snapped her back to reality. "Space cadet, come back to Earth."

Juvia roused herself. She'd gotten carried away again. "Sorry, I'm back." She smiled sheepishly, and Gajeel rolled his eyes.

Still, she was excited at the prospect of running into Natsu. He was clearly Lucy's good friend, after all. And if she hung out with Natsu a lot, she'd probably run into Gray at some point. He was sure to meet up with Natsu, and... She frowned. Come to think of it, Gray had been on campus when she'd rescued him. Had he been looking for Natsu? Lucy, maybe? Just how well did Lucy know Gray, anyways?

The static ringing of a microphone being adjusted caught her and Gajeel's attention, and they turned to the front of the class, where their professor greeted them and pulled up a Powerpoint on the display screen. She heard several groans behind her, but the professor paid them no mind, beginning to go over basic chemistry knowledge.

"Can't believe we're doing this on the first day," Gajeel mumbled, though he dutifully opened his notebook. Juvia didn't mind, though. Not too much. She was here to learn, after all, and everything about college was just so fresh and new, like glass windows after a light shower. She grabbed her pencil and began writing.

There would be plenty of time to figure things out. Juvia had the entire semester in front of her. She would take things as they came at her, like always.

And right now, that meant what mattered most was how to balance an equation.

A/N: Shorter than I'd planned on it being, but I needed to add some filler to make next chapter sweeter. ;)

xoxoPigTails