My Muse || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

📷 My Muse || Chapter Twenty Four

I told Norman to wait in my room. Ray would be there at 10. It was up to him to convince Ray to join us. 

"Ah, dang it. I thought I was doing well." He jokingly raised his hands in defeat. "You got me. I am Mama's spy." He grinned unnervingly. "I just want to know, when did you start suspecting me?"

Norman's ocean blue eyes shone uncomfortably. "Ever since your seventeenth birthday. I was disgusted with myself for thinking such a thing. But you were the first person I suspected. Even though you're my friend. I just wished it wasn't true."

Ray made himself comfortable on my bed, Norman leaned against the door. Emma and I listened from the closet, hunched together compactly. "I had to look at it from a different standpoint. For our enemies it would've been most beneficial. You could give advice and control the situation from the inside. No one else fit the job better, you could've even framed it on Don, which you did try to do."

"You know by now, right, Ray?" The door clicked, locked, and Norman inched closer to the black haired boy. "I had set three traps, for three different people. To you, I said that Don knew about the rope hiding under my bed. But in reality, I had told Don that the rope was hidden in the dining room, and to Gilda I said that it was in the library. Why did only "Don's" rope go missing? When you and I were the only ones who knew about it?" Norman snapped his fingers, chuckling. 

A small smile slid across Ray's face. "Hmph." He mumbled, satisfied. "That's why you suspected me. And here I am, walking into a trap I was too careless to notice."

"But wait, one more thing." Norman inched closer, taking a seat on the opposite side of the mattress. "Ray, you're not a traitor only set up for this occasion, are you? Mama wouldn't trust a random tip from a random child. How long have you been working for her?"

His voice wavered, as if he regretted that fateful decision. "For a long, long time."

"So you knew about everything and assisted Mama this whole time?"

"Mhm."

"Was it all a lie? All the time you spent with y/n, Emma and me? What and how much did you tell Mom? The tracking devices can be broken, right?"

"What's the point in asking? Will you cut me off depending on my answer?" He challenged Norman defiantly. He couldn't sink any lower.

"Of course not. I'll have you by our side as you've always been." Norman shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "Aren't you glad? You can continue to hide the mistake you've made. You wanted to keep spying on us and try to make it up to her, right?"

Ray glared at Norman. His cold silver eyes were like knives. "What do you want?"

"Three things."

Norman lifted his pointer finger. "One. Continue to spend time with us and guarantee our safety."

His middle next. "Two. Release all of the information you have to us."

He smiled. "And Three. Join our side."

Ray's chaotic smile disappeared. He couldn't believe what he has just heard. His expression was shadowed and rather disturbed. "What?"

"Ray, can you become my spy?"

He slammed his hands onto the bed. "You want me to be the ace up your sleeve?"

"Yes." Norman replied, gleefully.

"Are you stupid?" Ray snapped. "If that was your objective the entire time, you should have kept quiet and used me. Forcibly utilize me and abandon me after you've executed the plan. That would've been a better method."

"You're right but... she said we were a family."

Norman pointed towards the closet. Emma noticed and kicked the door open. She pushed me outside. I stumbled into my room, crashing onto Ray's back. His eyes were cold and confused, he looked at me like he'd seen a ghost. I pushed myself off, hiding behind Norman. I couldn;t bring myself to look at him. 

Norman chuckled and continued. "I don't know if y/n can trust you. But honestly, the truth is, I want to believe in you. That you're a friend before an enemy."

"Can you do that for us, Ray?" Norman asked, holding out his hand

Tears welled up in his eyes. He hesitantly took it, shaking it softly. 

"I-I'm sorry, y/n." He said, stuttering. That warm look he had just hours before was gone. He looked pale, unhealthy, distrustful. Was Ray always like this? And I had just been too blind to notice? I brushed off his apology, scoffing. 

"Just... Get out... I can't look at you anymore." Ray unlocked the door, glancing back at me one more time. I looked away coldly. Norman placed his hand on my shoulder, comforting me. "You did the right thing, y/n." He said, pulling me into a hug. I clutched Norman's shirt, tears starting to fall from my eyes. Ray watched us silently. 

"You two... Look like you'd be very happy together..." He said sadly, closing the door behind him. 

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I forgot to name this chapter, but don't worry! It's fixed now!

-Ruru

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