They're Only Photos || Norman x Ray

25

NORMAN

"Time changes people in irreversible ways."

~°~
Norman blushed at Emma's words, then quickly pushed his feelings down, far down, into his gut. The feeling seemed to writhe like a trapped snake and then settled in a dangerous, tight bundle, making Norman feel queasy. "I know Ray cares about me, Emma-"

"That's not what I said," Emma interruppted. It scared Norman how serious she looked, and it seemed to surprise Ray as well. Norman squinted at him. His best friend wore an uncomfortable expression, mildy amused, shocked... something else? 

Usually Norman could read people's emotions easily, but Ray was a mystery to him. Most of the time it felt like Ray was the one reading his emotions. Norman squirmed, feeling uncomfortable at anyone - even someone as close to him as Ray - unlocking what lay inside. There were some things... a lot of things... Norman would take to the grave.  Even if they were what caused his demise. 

"I said Ray really likes you, Norman," Emma finished, snapping Norman out of his uncomfortable daze. A tint of red shaded Ray's olive cheeks, which didn't go unnoticed by Norman. He felt his own porcelain face heat up, and instinctively reached up to touch his face to make sure he hadn't lit up. He had a boyfriend, for goodness' sake! Why was he thinking about other men?

"Are you trying to suggest me and Norman have something going on?" Ray said, sounding more wary than angry. "That's exactly what I'm saying," Emma confirmed. She spun a lock of orange hair around her finger. Norman watched as it twirled, once, twice...

"Well, we don't," Ray spoke up. "What are you trying to pull, Emma? You know I'm not gay." Emma smirked, and nodded. She took a seat on the couch beside Ray. "Hmm... that's up for discussion, but perhaps.. do you know what it means to be bisexual, Norman?"

Norman's head instinctively moved up and down. Of course he knew what being bi was, it was very commonly known among the LGBT community and outsiders. Usually people would confuse him for being bi instead of pan. "Yeah," he said. "I know what being bi is."

Emma patted him on the back. "Care to explain it to our little emo?"

"I'm not-"

"Sure!" Norman cut in, eyeing Ray. He was always one to step in whenever a fight took place. "Bisexual - noun, adjective. Being bisexual is feeling sexually attracted to more than one gender."

"Thank you," Emma said politely, then turned to Ray. She looked on the verge of bursting into laughter. Norman had to admit Ray did look pretty oblivious. His face was all so flustered and... Norman had a boyfriend....

"Ray, do you think maybe, just maybe, you're bi...?" There was silence for a moment before Ray spoke up. "I.. don't.. know.." His voice was muffled; his head was buried into a blanket. Norman wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Ray seemed less tense after that.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Norman asked. "Explain. Are you confused... struggling?"

A loose sob echoed from the blanket, and Norman reached down a hand to stroke Ray's head. Poor Ray, he thought. I remember struggling just like him when I was questioning.

"It's just... I've always liked girls.. only a few girls I had crushes on, but... I hung out with other guys and I guess I just- uhm, assumed they were off limits." Norman's ears caught every word that came from Ray's mouth. Emma seemed to be quiet for once. She was listening intently.

"And..." He seemed to struggle to find words. But Norman didn't need to hear his next sentence. He already knew what was coming. "You felt strange. Like those guys you hung out with were more than just friends.. like some of them would be husband materiel."

Ray laughed and poked his head up from the blanket. "You-" He sniffed. Norman hadn't realised the raven had been crying. "You really know a lot about this stuff, huh?" Norman smiled and nodded.

Emma's face mimicked his expression. "It might be different for me, since I'm only attracted to women.. mighty fine, might I add... but honestly I get where you're coming from. Whenever my friends used to talk about me getting a boyfriend... fuck, whenever I had to talk about it.. it felt wrong. The girls in my school were different, I knew it. And I guess I knew it would take time to find love... so it was a while before I got back up on my feet...."

".... but I've climbed a mountain, and I'm not afraid to climb back up again if anyone were to knock me down. This is where I belong, forever and ever..."

"... Amen," Norman finished.

Emma whacked him on the back of the head, causing him to yelp. "You really had to interrupt me, didn't you?"

Ray's just stared at Emma blankly. Finally he opened his mouth, gaped at her and said...

"WAIT, EMMA, YOU'RE A LESBIAN?!"

Norman frowned. "Oh, yeah, I forgot you didn't know," he thought aloud.

"Yeah, I'm a lesbian," Emma confirmed. "Oh, and Norman, can I ask a favour?" She put on her classic puppy eyes.

Norman nodded. He was happy to help anyone in any way. "Sure!"

"I want to borrow Ray for a second." She stood up and put a hand on Ray's shoulder. Ray stood to join her and was immediately whisked away.

"We'll be in the kitchen!" he called, choking as Emma pulled him by the shirt collar.

Norman just sat there, wondering what the hell was going on.

A/N: Shit, shit, shit. More than 500 reads?! Damn, thanks so much! Every person who's read this has been such a help! So, any predictions for the next chapter? And what would you think if I wrote a GilEmma book that was a continuation of this? The idea has settled itself in my mind.