Ray had been in a strange mood for the entire day. It was a strange mixture of irritation and desire. He just couldn't shake this feeling, and it frustrated the young boy to no end.
And it had all started with a certain orange-haired nuisance.
He must have been walking for hours, he observed, and that's when the crushing reality hit him like a tidal wave.
He had no idea where he was.
How did this even happen? He had separated himself from the group, needing a minute alone, which in hindsight was the worst decision ever, and then-- wait.
He had started thinking about her again.
No matter how hard Ray had tried, Emma kept popping up in his thoughts. Whenever that occurred, his chest felt fuzzy, and his head started to swim. A smile would creep its way onto his face before he could stop it.
And he had been thinking about Emma a lot recently.
Ray 'tsked' discontentedly, scanning the forest around him for a glimpse of something familiar. The unmistakable snarl of a demon quickened his pulse, and he immediately began sprinting in the other direction.
Run. Just keep running. Survive.
•••
Emma scurried back to the others, an expression of worry on her features. "Ray still hasn't returned yet!"
Violet shook her head. "That idiot! He's gonna get himself killed out there!"
Emma balled her hands into fists, yet her expression appeared to be more composed than before.
"I'll go look for him." Her voice was soft, yet bitter.
"What!? No! Emma, you can't-"
"I'll be fine." She held up her pistol. "I'm prepared."
Gilda strode over to Emma, giving her a huge hug. "Be safe," she murmured.
Emma nodded. "I will."
And the girl set off in the direction she had seen Ray walking in.
•••
"Damn it…"
The raven-haired teen was currently sitting on the ground, leaning his back against the bark of a tree as he attempted to catch his breath. The throbbing of his bleeding arm elicited an involuntary string of curses from under Ray's breath.
"I'm so dumb!"
Just then, Ray's ears began to pick up the distinct sound of brisk footsteps coming towards him. He froze, unsure if these feet belonged to a human or a demon.
"Ray!" A voice called out in the distance.
Ray's eyes widened. He definitely recognized that voice. His heart had skipped a beat, and inside he had begun to panic.
Why did it have to be her? She's the reason I wandered off..
Emma finally found Ray, beaming proudly. "There you are! Everyone was worried about-" Her smile dissipated when she noticed that his arm was dripping crimson.
Her eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the audible gasp that slipped from her lips.
"Oh, my goodness! Are you okay!?" She ran over to him, kneeling at his side.
"No," Ray deadpanned. "Why did you come out here alone!? Are you crazy!?"
Emma tapped her pocket, which contained her pistol. "I can protect myself."
Ray rolled his eyes. "Tch. Whatever."
Emma ignored Ray's comment, tearing a piece of cloth from her shirt and wrapping it around his arm to stop the bleeding temporarily, at least until they had made their way back to the shelter. In doing so, her fingertips just barely grazed the surface of Ray's, causing her face to darken with blush as her pulse slightly quickened in her chest.
Ray observed this, flashing the shorter girl a teasing smirk, despite the shock of red that dusted his cheeks from the encounter. Before he knew what was happening, he felt gentle lips pressing onto his wounded arm.
Emma quickly pulled away, nervous laughter tumbling from her lips. "I wanted to kiss it better." She smiled awkwardly.
Ray ruffled her hair. "Dork," he muttered, before breaking out in a burst of laughter.
And Emma was quick to join in, her giggling reminding Ray of when they were just carefree children; how they had been before the escape, before losing Norman, all of it.
And then it finally hit him. The reason Emma had popped up into his thoughts so often.
Because he was in love with her.
And Ray needed Emma more than he had once determined.
The particularly loud growling of a demon close by snapped the young teens from their fantasies. Emma instinctively stood, reaching for her pistol.
"Go for the eyes," Ray reminded her. "It's the weak spot."
Emma nodded. "Right."
There was a spark of admiration twinkling in Ray's eye as he watched Emma carefully aiming her shot, soon firing off a round from her pistol. The bullet hit its intended target, causing the demon to tumble to the ground, dead as a doornail.
"Nice one," Ray complimented her, a smirk etched on his face as he spoke.
The blush on Emma's cheeks darkened from the praise. "Thank you." She leaned down to meet Ray's gaze, smiling warmly at him.
"We should probably get back to the others. They must be worried sick."
Emma frowned softly. "We can't just dance around this."
Ray tilted his head. "Dance around what?"
"Do you….love me?"
And then Ray was left speechless for a moment. Has she figured it out?
It seemed to be such a simple phrase, but to be honest, Ray hadn't expected it, so his mind was in overdrive trying to come up with a proper and coherent response to Emma's query.
Instead of saying the truth aloud, Ray nodded his head, staying completely silent.
Emma squealed similarly to a young schoolgirl, gently grabbing Ray's hands and intertwining her own fingers with his.
"Dork," Ray murmured, before taking initiative and pulling Emma's face closer, suddenly placing his coarser lips on her softer and smoother ones.
Time had seemed to halt to a stop in this particular moment for Emma. Her eyes widened at the sudden placement of Ray's lips on hers, her heart was pounding excitedly in her chest, and her head was swimming.
The slightly taller boy pulled away after a moment, wincing slightly in pain as the cloth tied around his arm was dyed a ruby red from his injury.
"We really should get back to the others," Ray muttered, starting to walk away before he was suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Ray… We can't just ignore this. You.. kissed me."
He turned around towards Emma and glared. "You idiot. Do you want me to die? Think about the important things here…"
Emma let her hands droop to her sides as Ray started walking again.
He was right. She really should have been more mindful of the situation…
On the other hand, she couldn't just not think about what had just transpired. After all, her crush had just kissed her…
Determined, she ran to catch up with Ray as they made their way back to the others.
