(Good night to smol Ray. Or good morning, depending on the timezone. Maybe good afternoon...? Oh well. On with the story now,,,
I FORGOT TO PUT THIS AT THE END OF THE LAST CHAPTER SO HERE IT IS
----bonus-----
Emma took notice of Ray's lack of scarf and grinned. "Ohoo~? Where'd your scarf go, Ray?" She asked, elbowing him lightly.
Ray tucked his face into his jacket. "I gave it to Y/N." He muttered, kicking a rock across the ground.
Emma grinned wider. She giggled, elbowing Ray. "Fufufufu~ Is that love I smell in the air~"
"No, it's probably Don's BO. He hasn't showered in days. Plus..." Ray turned to Emma with a deadly glance, an eyebrow raised. "I know you took Y/N's scarf."
The ginger girl blanched. "Ahahahahah- I have no idea what you're talking about..."
"I saw you going through her bag while she slept a few days ago. I was on watch at the time, dumb*ss." Ray rolled his eyes.
Emma giggled nervously. "Then, I'll be checking up on Don now, bye-" She dashed away from Ray quickly to avoid further questioning.
Ray rubbed the back of his head as he thought about Y/N's shocked face to himself. "I don't regret it, though." He mumbled, sticking his face into his collar with a sigh.
-----end of bonus-----
I smiled widely at the albino boy in front of me, doing my best not to fangirl scream and jump on him. I instead carefully walked up to Norman and gave him a big hug, to my surprise, not even coming up to his shoulders. He seemed surprised by the affectionate gesture but returned it after a moment of shock.
I sighed happily before backing away, looking at Norman's face. I had to crane my neck to look him in the eye at his height. He looked taller than he did while I read the manga... "You're tall." I stated dumbly. "I-I mean you grew a lot."
Norman laughed. "So did you." He led me to sit down at the couch and I sat across from him, finally getting a chance to rest my tired legs after moving for practically 24 hours straight. I set down my empty mug from the hot chocolate on the coffee table while I waited for Norman and his questions.
"You don't seem surprised to see me." The albino observed with a hum, clasping his hands in front of his face.
I cocked my head. "Did you not receive my message?" I asked curiously. Norman shook his head no. I frowned sadly. Then the one who called must've not been Norman or related to him... or maybe it was Vincent, but he'd neglected to tell the albino... My frown deepened.
Norman hummed. "Why, was the message important?" He asked curiously.
I huffed, disappointed. "Yeah, but oh well." I then sat up straight. "But you did see me on the owl cameras, right?!"
Norman looked shocked once again. "Well, yes... but how did you know about that?" He asked. I groaned obnoxiously.
"They don't have audio do they." I sprawled over the armrest of the couch with a sad sigh.
"Well, no..." The albino sounded puzzled by my statements.
I snorted. "So I really was just talking to myself. That's embarrassing. Although it's not new for me..." I grinned.
Norman let out a small laugh. "Good to know you're still the same." He smiled sadly.
I laughed too, sitting up, "And good to know you're still covering up the little child quivering inside of you with your never-ending charisma." I smiled innocently.
Norman looked shocked but only for a moment before he covered it up with a confused look, raising one of his big eyebrows. "I don't quite get what you're saying, Y/N." He wore his hallmark kind smile as he spoke, but his tone said to drop it. I relented and left the topic alone, taking a comfortable position on the couch once again.
"I'll leave it, I'll leave it." I raised my hands in reassurance. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "Did you remember what I told you last time we met?" I asked with both an anxious and expectant smile.
Norman cocked his eyebrow. " "When you have an owl and mass-murder obsession in the future, try not to be such a d*ck, will you?", hmm?" He hummed, repeating word-for-word what I'd said to him that day.
I blinked a few times as I thought but sighed in relent. "Yeah, no way you'd forget that." I cursed out my younger self.
Norman nodded. "Are you going to explain?" He inquired, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and folding his hands in front of his face, looking unnervingly like a Disney villain.
I laughed despite being intimidated a little by Norman's strong demeanour that had only grown since being 'adopted'. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll explain."
-----
"I see..." Norman hummed, placing his hand on his chin. "It's a little hard to believe, but now that I think about it... it seems plausible."
I snorted. "I spill secrets contradicting the laws of the universe and your opinion on it is "It seems plausible?""
Norman smiled. "Yep!"
I snorted. "Leader of hundreds but still a goofy little boy." I grinned, shifting my position on the couch once again. "You've always been scary, though."
Norman rolled his eyes. "Aren't you like ten years old?"
I frowned. "I'm eleven. El-ev-en." I emphasized the syllables, not appreciating his dig at my age.
Norman grinned. "Kidding, kidding. I know, I know." He sighed happily with a smile. He then checked his watch for the 6th time during our conversation and I frowned.
"You've got work to do, don't you?" I inquired as his food began tapping.
Norman shook his head, stopping his foot tapping immediately. "No, It's fine-"
I sighed. "I'll just watch you work." Norman looked like he was about to interject until I continued. "I already know all your plans anyway- no use in hiding them." I shrugged, raising an eyebrow while I smirked.
Norman sighed in relent. "Do what you want." He walked to his desk and took a seat. "Not like you'd listen if I told you not to."
I laughed. "You're right about that." Norman rolled his eyes and went back to his work.
I spent a while watching the original albino do paperwork before I began to grow tired of watching him sign papers and write letters. I then left Norman's work room and began exploring, going around meeting ad speaking to all kinds of children in all ages. After I thoroughly learned the layout of the hideout and many of the children who inhibited it I went back to Norman and asked him where the place the Gracefield escapees would be staying. He gave me the directions to the large house and I left to find it.
I took a bath and changed clothes again. There was a lot more variety available in the well-supplied hideout, but I chose some similar to what I was wearing already- a button-up shirt and some dark pants. I cleaned my jacket and put it back on as well. I thought about cleaning Ray's scarf but decided to leave it as is, putting it back on. That ravenhead can deal with it later.
And then I was bored. Ray and Emma weren't here yet, Norman was being his cold emperor self, and I was mildly worried that Vincent was watching me, and also trying to stay out of sight of the crazy b*tches 2; Barbara, and Cislo and avoid doing anything that would attract attention. I ended up heading to the massive library in the hideout and spent the rest of my first day here reading books and fiddling around with my throwing knives.
And then it was late at night. I was still sitting at the library table, flipping through pages of a book written in demon language, trying to learn to read the dialect. I yawned and checked the time on a watch I'd found along with the clothes. 12:30 AM. I sighed, heavy topics filling my brain as they always do at night. Norman... he was still trying to be independent. That 14-year-old-boy... when he was only 12 years old, he was raised on the pedestal of a god... I wonder what that would feel like?
I sighed, closing the cover of my book with a barely audible thud. Was there anything I could do for Norman? I grinned, standing up from my chair. I have just the idea.
I climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, turning off the lamp. I can't wait to see the look on his face.
(Y'ALL I PAUSED WRITING THIS TO WATCH THE NEW TPN EPISODE
AND WORDS LITERALLY CAN'T DESCRIBE HOW I FEEL IM SO CONFLICTED
LIKE I MEAN AT THE VERY LEAST I HAVE THIS LQ IMAGE OF RAY:
S M O L
AND THIS HQ ONE:
OK, WELL, I'M DONE NOW, LOL.)