Underwater (a Bates Motel/Norman Bates fanfic)

Norman IV

Edited: 4/25/17

Ridley seemed upset after I stood up for her. I could tell not by the look on her face, but by the fact that she refused to speak to me or even look at me. She kept walking when I tried to get her attention in the halls. I wanted to speak to her, and I- no, I needed to talk to her, because I really liked her a lot. But something had to have happened, and I fear that it's my fault.

Does she know about the murders? I wanted to ask myself that, but at the same time, I felt like it wouldn't matter to Ridley if she knew. She's understanding. But at the same time, it might freak her out quite a bit. No, it would freak her out, and not just 'quite a bit.'

At lunch time, she sat alone, and I took that as my chance to talk to her. I sat across from her, two sodas in hand; Mountain Dew (her favorite, I remembered) and Pepsi, sliding the Mountain Dew over to her side. She looked up from her notebook, smiling faintly. "Oh, hey, Norman. Thanks."

"No problem. Everything okay?"

She shrugged. "Okay isn't the word for it..." She opened the soda carefully, and when she touched it, lifting it to take a drink, bruises on her arm were revealed. There's no way she did that from falling down, either, even if she is clumsy...

"What's going on?"

She looked confused, but I could see through it. "What do you mean?"

I nodded towards her wrist. "You fall or something?"

She sipped the can of soda slowly. "Sure, I fell..."

"Ridley, you know you can trust me, right?"

She looked down at her notebook. I glanced at it to see scrawled words, possibly a poem, all over a page in weird places, not in stanza format. When she saw I looked, she shut it quickly. "It's not a matter of trust, Norman."

"I thought we were friends." I touched her hand, carefully turning it over and examining the bruises in which she tried to cover with cuts and scars. "I don't like this.. I want you to be able to talk to me, if you can't talk to anyone else. I'd be willing to do anything for you, can't you see that?"

"Maybe it's not friendship that I want." Ridley mused. "I like you, Norman, but... I don't want to ruin your reputation with my presence, and that's why I don't talk to you. People talk. They think of me in the same way they did back at home. I'm a homewrecker, I get in the way, I screw things up... I don't want to do that to you, and-" She stopped.

I kissed her hand gently, playing with her fingertips. "Shush. You haven't screwed up a thing. You gave my life a whole new meaning."

She blushed. "But... It's obvious Emma likes you..."

I shook my head. "She's just a friend."

"But does she know that, Norman?" I could see the tears as they formed in her eyes, and I didn't like it. It made my heart ache. I've seen girls cry before, and I brushed it off, but this made me want to cry, too. It was terrible.

"If she doesn't, I can tell her. Ridley, please, just don't let things build up. I'm always here for you."

Ridley's eyes met mine, the stale blue-grey orbs still full of tears. "Promise?"

"Yes." I kissed her hand once more. "Please, just don't cry again. Promise me you won't cry."

The bell rang, and she said, "I'll do my best," as she walked away.

*****

When I got home, a burly man that I didn't recognize was bickering with Dylan, loud enough for me to hear it from the parking lot, when they were on the porch. I didn't like this man already. Who he was didn't matter. He's not about to fuck with my family and get away with it.

My blood boiled in my veins when I headed up those steps behind him. Dylan saw me, but didn't say a word about it, just continued the argument. "I'm sorry, sir, but Norma is not present, so you'll have to come back later. I cannot allow you to loiter around on our property."

"You're not a Bates. So how can you say that?"

I could see the anger in Dylan's eyes when this man said that. He was infuriated. I took that as my cue; that it was okay for me to intervene. So I wrapped my arm around his neck, choking him out. He fell to his knees, choking out, "Please, please, stranger, let me go." If he could even get that out, that is. Dylan nodded to me.

"You can let him go, now, Norman."

"No, he doesn't fuck with our family." I felt my eyes twitch, breaking his neck. I didn't mean to get so angry, I just didn't appreciate what this man just said. "What did he need, anyway?" I dropped him to the ground.

"To see Norma, about some 'arrangement.' But since Norma's busy, I haven't allowed it, obviously." Dylan dragged him to his truck, covering him with a sheet, and put him in the truck bed. "You comin' with?"

"Where are we going with him?" I asked, getting in the truck.

"I figure we could throw him in the ocean or some shit." Dylan said. "

"Eh, sounds like a good idea."

******

Author's Note:

Sorry, I know it's short, but I know the few people who really enjoyed the story wanted an update, and I couldn't think of much more to add. Norman and Ridley became close, and I thought since that was cliche-ish, I'd add the burly man into it. xD Hope you enjoy!!!

::Rid::