*.•Within this house of Books•.* {Don x Ray}

07#.

(No One's P.O.V)

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"Don, you should be more careful. You're going to hurt yourself being as careless as you are with those tools."

Don was lost, his romantic fantasies running miles. He's been a hopeless romantic since he was young, his love language was doing things for others, he just couldn't help himself.

As he continuously dreamt of all he could be and do for Ray, He got his finger again. "Ow!" It was a splinter. A big one.

"Don- I was trying to tell you to be careful! Are you alright?" Norman took Don's index finger in his own hands, examining it closely. "That's a big one. C'mon Don, let's pull it out"

Norman led Don inside the house, shutting the doors behind him. He also wanted to converse with Don about something, so this was the best time. As they walked inside the small clinic, Don's stomach felt like it dropped a hundred feet. He felt like a little kid in trouble for disobeying a parent, soon to be scolded.

Norman sat Don down on a stool with leather cushioning, seating himself in something similar.
The lecture would begin.

"Don, you've been careless lately. What's wrong? You're usually much more careful with using tools, rarely getting hurt like this or last week. Is there something bothering you? Something you need to get off your chest?"

Norman was a wonderful friend, don't get Don wrong. Don felt like he could tell Norman anything, except about his crush on a certain raven-haired boy.
Discussing his romantic feelings with Norman would break Don in the most embarrassing way possible.

He knew himself, he knew he'd rant on and on about how perfect Ray was, about how his hair grew extremely long during the cold seasons, about how he'd do anything to stop Ray's head and earaches, about how gentle Ray's hand held his own. He knew he simply wouldn't stop.

"It's not anything important, I'm just daydreaming"

Norman perched his chin on his hand, eyes worried and mouth looking twisted, trying to figure out what to say. "You seem so much giddier lately. Don't get me wrong, I love that you've got something that makes you this way, but maybe don't put yourself at risk while you're in this state of mind."

Don knew where Norman was coming from, but he really did want to get the stage finished. The kids were working so hard, they even let him be in the play, he wanted to do his best for them.

Don just nodded his head in agreement, watching as Norman grabbed a pair of tweezers and a tube filled with antibiotic cream. "Which bandaid would you want this time Don? We got the standard, different colors, frogs, mushrooms, rocks with goggly eyes" he looked at Don, expecting an answer.

But he felt like he knew the answer already. "So the rocks or mushrooms?"
"Rocks"

Nodding his head, Norman brought the pointed tweezers towards Dons index finger, holding it under a lamp light. It wasn't hard to find, and as soon as he plucked it out, he dropped it in the trash can, laid the tweezers in the sink and applied the antibiotic cream.

"So Don, have you thanked Ray for his help this past week?"
"I've been too nervous to do it actually"
Now this peaked his interest. Why would Don be nervous about thanking someone?  He was Don, who said sorry for everything and always said please and thank you before and after someone did something for him.

"What's got you so nervous?"
He wrapped the bandage of Dons choice around his finger.
"It's really stupid."
"Don, I bet it isn't if it's got you, of all people nervous about thanking someone"
Don was doing it again, Norman noticed. Whenever Don felt anxious he would apply pressure to or shake his limbs to get all the anxious feelings out.

He was messing with his hands in a pattern that didn't make sense, shaking them violently. "Don, you don't have to tell me, but I'd prefer to know what's got you all worked up. I'm here to help"

To Don, Norman was better off being a therapist or psychiatrist, he was so professional asking Don such personal questions. Maybe that's why Don was so anxious, it was the fact Norman (his best friend) was acting like he was his patient, and not like they had known each other their entire lives.

"You're treating me like I'm a problem needed to be fixed and not your friend, just criticize me and tell me I'm being too reckless. It makes me feel lame being treated like a patient by my best friend."

Norman hadn't realized how formal he became. His posture was as straight as can be, and he held that smile every doctor of some kind had while asking questions. He forgot that Don wasn't just some person needing help, Don was his friend, has been for the longest time.
"I'm sorry. It must've made you uncomfortable, I'll loosen up. You want me to criticize you? Okay.

You need to stop this and just tell me what's wrong. Well, not wrong but what's going on? Has something happened lately? Is something coming up? Do you have feelings for someone"-
There it was, the answer. He didn't wanna make assumptions about anything, but that never stopped his suspicions about the way Don was smiling. Like every cheesy fucking romance protagonist had just been love-struck, it was all too familiar.

An entirely different shade took over the taller males features, he looked so embarrassed and ashamed. "You got yourself a crush? Do I cheer you on or say 'bros before hoes my dude'"

"I'm flattered, but the it's also one of the 'bros' I like more then I should"
Don knew Norman knew who he was talking about, he was just avoiding actually admitting to it.
"Well I'm sure he feels the same, I mean have you seen the way he holds your hand? Geez sometimes I get jealous. He just grabs mine like it's indestructible, but he holds yours like it's gonna fall apart at any given moment. He cares about you a little more then just being worried about you Don."

Don really, really wanted to believe him. And he would have if it wasn't for the constant ticking inside his head, telling him the opposite of what he wanted to believe.

He only nodded his head to avoid further words shared between the two. He sat up, thanking Norman for the bandaid and walking briskly out of the medical room.

I told myself I would never release a chapter I wasn't proud of, but that has changed. I have re-written it 20 times over the past two months and this is the only one I could stand.