They're Only Photos || Norman x Ray

38

NORMAN

"Sometimes you have to be a bitch to get things done."

~°~
Norman let out a relieved breath as the train sped off.

He had done it. Oh my god he had done it. He had broken the law, his career might come to a close, he could be in a new scandal, get arrested ...

Holy shit. Norman would rather not think about that at the moment.

Atleast he had gotten a seat.

Although the girl sitting beside him kept glancing at him for some reason.

Was it his hair? Did he look disheveled? Maybe it was the rucksack ...

"Uhm, excuse me," the girl muttered shyly.

Norman turned his head towards her. "Yes?"

"Are you.. are you Norman Minerva?"

Of course. That was it.

He put on his classic 'media smile'. "Yeah, that's me!"

The girl gasped and covered her mouth. She was blushing.

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry," she squeaked. "It's just.. I'm a big fan!"

It was Norman's turn to blush now. "Aww, thank you," he said, genuinely smiling now. "It means a lot."

"I thought you have a lot of fans?" She seemed confused.

"Well, yeah," Norman admitted. "But not many of them dare to have a one-on-one conversation with me. It's refreshing."

The girl's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, okay! My name's Barbara, by the way."

"Norman."

"I know," she chuckled.

"Right."

There was silence between them, when at last Norman spoke up. "Why are you headed to Tottori, Barbara?"

"I'm visiting family," she explained. "I moved to the city when I was younger, but my grandparents insist on me visiting every year."

"That's so sweet," Norman said. "I-"

"Your parents are dead, aren't they?"

It felt like a knife to Norman's heart. "I mean, uhm .. yeah. They died when I was younger."

"That must have been hard. Well, I don't really know much, but am I right?"

"Yeah, ah .. can we .. not talk about this?" Norman was starting to feel creeped out, especially by the way Barbara was staring at him; like he was some sort of specimen.

"Oh." Her face fell. "Alright."

And they stayed silent the rest of the train ride.

~°~

Norman awoke abruptly to someone shaking his shoulder.

"Mm ..." He kept his eyes closed tight. He didn't want to get up.

"Norman," came a voice. "We've arrived."

Arrived? Arrived where?

Oh. Tottori.

His eyes flew open.

He snapped up from his resting position groggily. Clutching his Adventure Time bag to make sure it was safe, he got up to follow the trail of passengers off the train.

As hot air hit his face (a refreshing change from the freezing aircon) Norman heard a beep as an announcement was made.

"Dear passengers, we have reason to believe someone has arrived from Tokyo without a ticket. If you could please present your identification and ticket at the exit, we would appreciate it. Thank you for your cooperation."

Norman's situation just kept getting better.

"Ugh, I lost my ticket on the way here," Norman said, pretending to search his bag. "How am I going to get out?"

"It's alright," Barbara said cheerfully from behind him. "I know a back exit. Follow me."

Norman grinned as he followed Barbara out into the city of Tottori.