Ansgt. No manga spoilers.
Sick Norman x New neighbor Emma AU.
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Norman smirked as he watched outside through his bedroom window.
The reason for his smile was mainly the red-haired girl who had just moved in next door.
If Ray were here, I would probably tease him with some sarcastic phrase.
"Norman? If you are feeling well, you can greet the new neighbors" Isabella asked as she entered the room, noticing how her adopted son was watching the neighboring children "It's not good to be in the room that long"
It took a few seconds for Norman to respond, watching the girl helping, who he assumed was her younger brother, carrying a box.
"Sorry, Mama, I'm not feeling very well today..." He replied softly, still not looking at his mother.
It was not a lie, even though he appeared to be well, he was in great pain at the time.
Isabella smiled sadly, already aware of her son's fragile health "Okay, if you need anything-"
"I call you, I know." Norman completed as he turned and smiled at his mother "You told me that many times"
Smiling sadly one last time, Isabella left Norman's room, leaving him alone again.
—————
"They say he's like a ghost!" Don said as he make a dramatic gesture that drew a few laughs "He never leaves the house, is pale as paper and have white hair, like a old man!"
"And why my ghost neighbor never leave home?" Emma asked, laughing at Don's supposed terror story.
Don just shrugged, also not knowing how to answer "Nobody knows for sure, some even ask his brother, but they never get an answer"
"He have a brother?" Phil asked.
"Yes, his name is Ray, they have the same age, and he's super smart, but he never talks to anyone." Don explained "The last time I heard him speak, it was because of school work"
"You never seen this ghost boy?" Emma asked while looking at Don curiously.
"I think only once, when I was about five and playing on the playground" He replied trying to remember "He was with Ray and their mom, after that I didn't see him in person"
Unfortunately, the conversation between the four was interrupted when Don's mother calling him to come home.
"It looks like I have to go home, we'll talk later" Don said as he got up "By the way, welcome to the city!"
"Bye Don!" Emma and her younger brother said simultaneously.
Phil turned to his sister, still curious about their neighbor "Why do you think he never leaves the house?"
"Uhmm ... He may just be too shy or antisocial to leave the house" She replied laughing at her own explanation.
—————
The days passed and Norman found himself even more interested in the red-haired girl. So interested that he didn't even notice his brother entering his room.
"Oh? So is she a first crush?" Ray asked, breaking into his room and watching the girl with Norman "Dude, you look like a stalker"
"Hi Norman, how's your health? Oh I'm fine, thanks for asking, by the way, how was the trip with Papa?" Norman spoke sarcastically, looking at his brother "You know, Ray, this is how people greet each other after being away for three weeks"
Ray just rolled his eyes and went back to watching the red-haired girl, who was playing with her younger brother in the yard.
"Have you even talked to her yet?" He asked turning to his brother.
Norman's cheeks turned slightly red "No"
"Huh? Why?"
"... It's getting worse" His response changed the mood of the room, a sadness in the air that made him regret having responded truly.
Ray sat on the bed and was silent "... Sorry to say that, it ended the mood, didn't it?" Norman said trying to fix the situation "You don't have to stay like this, it's not like I'm dying-"
"You're dying, we both know that..." Ray said quietly "I'll take a walk" He said, getting up and leaving the room.
—————
Norman sighed and closed his book.
It had been an unbearable boring day, with Ray still upset at him, the only fun he had was watching his neighbor and reading books.
No, he was not a stalker, he was just delighted with the contagious joy of the girl he didn't even know her name.
Sighing again, he looked out the window, wondering what his neighbor was doing.
However, his thoughts were interrupted when a paper plane flew into his room, landing perfectly in front of him.
"What's this?" He asked himself, as he bent down and picked up the paper plane from the floor, looking out the window shortly thereafter to discover the origin of it.
He was confused when he saw no one outside, and wondered who would be able to aim the second-floor window perfectly. Well, Ray and his mom would probably be able, but they were both busy in the kitchen making lunch.
Carefully unfolding the paper to get some hint from its owner, Norman tilted his head in confusion when he saw words written on it. A letter maybe?
"Hello, my name is Emma, I am your neighbor" He read aloud "I recently noticed you looking at me from your window..." Norman gasped and blushed before reading on.
"Not that I feel uncomfortable, but I was wondering if you're the ghost boy that my cousin Don told me" He sighed that she didn't think he's a stalker or something, and frowned at the nickname "He described you as pale as paper, I never left the house, and you have white hair like an old man" He laughed lightly, the nickname certainly fit with him "I didn't find anyone else looking like that, so I guess it's you"
"If you can, could you write an answer? Even if you didn't leave the house for some reason, I would like to get to know you better since you seem to be quite lonely, I'll wait you answer"
Norman felt his ears go red. The fact that the girl he had been practically obsessed with in the past few weeks wanted to get to know him better had shaken him in a good way.
He would certainly write an answer as soon as possible.
—————
"The meds seem to be working" Norman heard his doctor say "If it continues like this, we will have time to find a donor"
He can see a glimmer of hope on his parents' faces. He smiled at that.
"Even if this is great news, you still have to be alert to his health" The doctor said not wanting to give false hope "So I recommend that he wear a watch to monitor his heart rate, even if it is expensive"
"Yes, of course" Leslie, her father said as he got up from the chair and shook the doctor's hand "We will buy, thanks"
"It's really great news," Isabella said when they were already on their way home, where Ray was probably waiting for them "Isn't it, Norman?"
Norman nodded absently and looked at the car window, smiling softly at the thought of having more life.
He closed his eyes, wondering what it would be like if they found a donor, what his future would be like.
There were so many things he wanted to do, like going to school, college...
He imagined himself sitting in a chair while writing down what the teacher said, occasionally answering a question. He also imagined himself about eighteen, carrying some books, Emma was at his side just like Ray, the three were laughing at something the girl had said.
And then he imagined himself in his twenties, smiling in amusement watching his mother playing with a child with light red hair and blue eyes. His red-haired wife sitting next to him laughing at how the little girl laughed and clapped with her grandmother.
Wait, red-haired wife?
He opened his eyes suddenly, feeling his whole face heat up when he realized it was Emma. He had imagined himself married to Emma in a distant future.
They had only talked by letters for the past three weeks and he was imagining a life being married to her.
That was very embarrassing.
"Norman, are you okay?" Isabella asked noting the redness on her son's face.
He just nodded again for fear of stuttering if he tried to say something.
—————
"Are you sure? Won't your father be angry?" Norman asked nervously as he tried to help Emma into her room through the window.
"Nah, he has a very heavy sleep, he must not wake up until tomorrow" She said when she managed to enter the room.
Even though he has prepared himself for this moment several times, Norman cannot help but blush when he first hears her voice.
They had planned that night all week. The plan was for Emma to sneak her father's rope and go into Norman's room and get out of there before they noticed she left the house.
Sure, she could just ask to visit Norman during the day, but her overprotective father would never let her into a boy's room.
Also, what would be the fun of entering your friend's house normally when you could climb to the second floor?
"Your voice is beautiful" Norman said turning red when he realized what he had just said "No, wait! I mean it's cute! No, I mean-"
Emma laughed, which made him laugh too, despite being very embarrassed.
"Your voice is beautiful too" She said when they both stopped laughing, which made Norman's face redder.
He coughed loudly when his new watch beeped to warn the change in his heartbeat.
Emma noticed the whistles on her watch, as she seemed quite interested "What is this?"
"This? It's a watch to monitor my heart rate" He said extending his wrist to show the watch better "He beeps when there is a change in my heart"
The beep grew louder when Emma's hand touched her skin to examine the watch "Why do you need this?" She asked curiously.
He hadn't told Emma about his weak heart because he feared she would look at him with a look of pity. He didn't want her to feel sad for him.
"It's just an accessory" He said making up a quick excuse.
If Emma suspected something she didn't show it.
—————
Norman smiled as he looked at Emma, who was very focused on the game of chess.
"You're distracting me ..." He heard her murmur so low that he could barely hear.
He blinked confused, not understanding how he could be distracting her "How?"
"You look cute when you're looking at me and it's distracting me" Emma said with a slight blush, Norman's face on the other hand was like a tomato.
"I-I can't help it, you're too cute for me not to look at" He said with a sudden surge of courage.
The two stayed silent looking at each other until they both started laughing.
The laughter soon stopped, but the two were still smiling "I'm sure you're cuter than me!" Emma exclaimed smiling with the redness on Norman's face.
"I can prove to you that you are cuter!" Norman replied leaving aside the chess.
"No you can not!" She said smiling even more and approaching him.
"Okay, so we're both cute at the same level" He said as he rolled his eyes, knowing he could never win an argument with Emma.
She hummed in agreement and they were both silent again.
"Hey ... Why don't you ever leave the house?" Emma asked nervously at his answer.
Norman hesitated to answer "I'll explain to you later"
Emma was really curious, but she wouldn't force him to speak if he didn't want to.
"When you leave, what do you want to do?"
"Stay all the day with my best friend" He said while looking away and getting Emma's confused look.
"Who?" She asked genuinely without understanding.
"You" He replied without looking at her.
Silence fell between them, both embarrassed by Norman's statement
"So when you can leave, will you be spending the whole day with me?" Norman nodded "So it's a promise, right?"
"Right"
—————
"I'm going to have a heart transplant tomorrow..." The words echoed in Emma's head "If the surgery doesn't go well... I can die"
"I have a terminal illness, but I didn't want to tell you" It was what Norman had said to her the night before.
They had known each other for almost five months and Emma's nightly visits had become quite common for both of them, so it was no surprise when she appeared at his window holding a book to read together.
What was surprising was Norman's revelation.
She sighed and clung to her pillow "I hope he is fine..."
She hugged the pillow even more. The thought of losing Norman was terribly devastating.
She closed her eyes. It would be much easier to doze off while she waited than while imagine bad things.
—————
If someone told Emma two days ago that her best friend was going to die, she would probably say it was silly and that Norman was perfectly healthy.
However, now, that was an undeniable truth.
More tears streamed down her face as she unsuccessfully tried to stifle her sobs.
Norman's brother had shown up about half an hour ago, that's when she received the news that Norman had died during surgery.
"He said to deliver this to you in case ... it happened" Ray said trying to disguise his terrible appearance while handing her a letter "See you later..." He said without giving her a chance to say anything.
Emma sat on the bed and reached for the letter on her nightstand that remained closed, not bothering to try to wipe away tears.
She slowly opened the envelope, recognizing Norman's elegant handwriting and feeling more tears fall.
"My dear Emma" She felt her heart break even more "If you are reading this, it is probably because I am no longer in this world" She could almost hear Norman's voice pronouncing the words.
"First of all, I would like to apologize for leaving you like this, I really am sorry and I hope you are not crying because of me" It was impossible for her not to cry "And also, I would like to apologize also for not being able to keep our promise... At least not in this life, but maybe, who knows, in the next one?"
The rest of the letter was painful for Emma to read, especially the ending.
"I sincerely hope that you are not so sad, even dead, I would feel very bad for making you cry, because, what kind of person makes they's..." She gasped as she read the full sentence "... Great love to cry?"
"Love, a Norman absurdly in love with you" She read the signature, thus finishing reading the letter that Norman had left her.
Norman had loved her, and it was so comforting as well as painful.
She hugged the letter against her chest. The last thing he had left for her.
She would miss him so much.
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If I was thinking about Your Lie in April when I wrote this? Yes.
If am I writing this at 4:00 am? Yes.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this 2558 words one-shot. I'm tired.
Sorry for any mistake!