They're Only Photos || Norman x Ray

20

NORMAN

"If I killed myself, you couldn't kill me yourself."

~°~
"How the fuck did that door do so much damage anyways?"

"It's made of marble Ray; what did you expect?" Norman replied for the fifth time that morning. He made a mental note to drug Ray the next time he was injured.

"I mean yeah, but marble isn't thaaaaat hard is it?" Ray argued, sipping his miso soup. "Besides, I only gave it a slight nudge." Ray's story seemed to have changed entirely from what had gone on earlier that morning.

"Well... you kind of charged headfirst into the wall. The impact went to the furthermost area at the top of your head, the weakest part of your skull."
Ray sniffed and turned his head away dramatically. "Also," Norman added. "You hit it on the pavement afterwards. I don't have to explain how hard the pavement is, right?"

Ray nodded. "I'm tired..." he mumbled. Norman's eyes widened. "Oh, of course! You need rest, obviously." He felt slightly guilty at keeping Ray awake all this time when he had a head injury.

Ray snuggled into the blankets on his couch. "Ray," Norman coughed. "Maybe the bed would be better?"

Ray's eyes were closed but he grabbed Norman's arm for support. The white-haired man led him to the bed, where he akwardly tucked in his coworker. Not knowing what to do, he pet Ray on the head and cooed, "There, there."

Then he remembered Ray's head hurt and he'd probably just make it worse. He withdrew his hand.

"I better get back to work," Norman  thought aloud. "Mr. Ratri will be angry at me if I skip work."

"No!" Ray almost screeched. "Staaaay Norman. Then we can have looots of fun." Ray's giggle made it clear to Norman that the concussion had affected him somehow. The affects must've only started to show themselves in the last hour. He was worried for his friend, but he couldn't allow himself to miss work.

"Sorry, Ray," Norman apologised. "I better get to work."

And off he went.

~°~
Two months later. . . .
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Ever since the weird happenings of that day, Ray had gone weird. Last month he'd turned twenty one, making him elegible to drink. Norman was confused, since he'd seen Ray drink multiple times before and had never suspected he'd been underage. Ray had been enthusiastic, but soon realised that his job would take up most of his time. Besides, it just wouldn't do to be hungover during an important meeting.

Norman didn't know what the cause of Ray's strange behaviour was. He seemed to be avoiding Norman and Emma at all costs, only talking to them when necessary at work. He declined their invitations to meet up.

Today, Norman was passing by Ray in the halls of Lambda Productions and gave the raven a small wave. Ray instantly looked to the floor and feinted not seeing anything.

Norman was disappointed. Had he done something wrong? Every time he confronted Ray, the man would give an excuse to run away.

Norman was sick and tired of his behaviour. He wanted to know what was going on. He was going to confront Ray after an upcoming photoshoot to clear things up.

After the photoshoot, Norman pursued Ray through the hallway. He waved to his friend. "Ray, wait for me!" Ray turned at the sound of his voice, clearly panic-stricken.

Norman caught up to his friend, hugging him from behind. "Ray, why have you been ignoring me?" He asked. He'd prefer to get straight to the point.

"Maybe I have been ignoring you, but it's not like I'll tell you," Ray replied.

Norman frowned. "Please, Ray?"

His eyes widened. "Oh no, did I do something to upset you?"

"No, it's not that. . . it's fine. Let's just pretend it didn't happen and be friends again, okay?"

Norman nodded, but he couldn't shake the feeling Ray was hiding something from him.