The Promised Neverlands

Ray x Emma

The Gracefield House kids were sitting around on the couch, chatting. 8 years after having obtained their freedom from the horrors of the orphanage and the wilderness and reaching the human world safely, the big family had settled down together happily in an adequately sized house and now, the eldest of them all, Ray, Emma and Norman (yes, Norman was also reunited his friends again at one point during their journey and words simply could not express the joy of his other siblings and ESPECIALLY his 2 best friends when they found out that he was alive and well after all) were in their early 20's and the second eldest, Don, Gilda and Anna were just exiting their teens (18-19). The remaining younger ones were now either 13-14 (those who were above 5 when they escaped) or 8-9 (for those who were younger than 5 and brought in later). The chatting that was going on was at 11 in the night and involved only the eldest and second eldest members of the family who had finished their responsibility of putting the younger ones to bed for the night already. This was their own private, free time when they all could get together and talk about things without the younger ones listening (sometimes :P). Mostly, they caught up on each others day. It was a family tradition. During the day, some of them had taken on different kinds of jobs to bring in income. Norman had studied medicine and worked as a doctor in a small clinic while Emma was a teacher at school. Others had alternate days like Don and Gilda who worked as a waiter and waitress at the same restaurant on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ray and Anna were the only ones who had not taken up work.. yet. Today, Emma was telling everyone something interesting that happened at her school and they all were listening to her. Everyone except for Ray, who got lost in his own thoughts at some point and only snapped out of it when everyone started laughing. After the laughing ceased, Emma continued with her story and this time, Ray was listening as well. Only that somehow while listening, he found his gaze fixed on Emma.. again. And the rest of her words got drowned out by his thoughts. 'God, she's so beautiful.. She's like a princess..' Ray thought, looking at her tall, slender figure and long, orange waist length hair. 'I don't think I've ever seen such an attractive pair of eyes in my life before' he thought to himself after turning his attention to her sparkling, light green eyes with long curling eyelashes. 'How and why is she so perfect?? I feel l can keep looking at her like this forever. No, rather I want to keep looking at her like this forever. This is the same Emma who was with me since so many years ago in the orphanage, the escape and then the entire journey too, right? Where was I then and how did I not notice all this about her before? Now my eyes want to take in every little detail of her. Something is definitely wrong with me. Wait wait wait! Stop staring at her like this Ray you idiot, you are going to freak her out!' And with these thoughts, Ray forced himself to snap out of his trance and thankfully, neither Emma herself nor anyone else was looking at him.. yet. They all were still too busy talking to each other. He gave a small sigh of relief 'Whew, she's got a hypnotic pull.. like a magnet'. He put his head down in order to avoid getting into the same situation again. It was much too risky looking at her. These days it seemed that every single time he was even around her, his eyes always ended up getting drawn to her, both aimlessly and helplessly and then the entire cycle repeated itself. It was more like she and not Ray himself was their controller. 'Why am I even looking at her that way now when I never did before? I don't know what is wrong with me.. I'm a little scared' But Ray was wrong in assuming that no one was looking at him. From the far away corner, Norman had witnessed everything secretly and now he smiled to himself. He knew exactly what was going through Ray's mind. After so many years of being together, he could read him like an open book. 'It's all happening because you're falling for her, Ray. No, rather, because you have already fallen for her. And yet, you did not seem like the kind of person who would really fall for anyone. But our Emma is someone who can make even the seemingly impossible, possible. And she proved that once again. Norman felt that he needed a little guidance and decided to talk to him in private about the matter soon. 'For the first time, Ray's actually looking so unsure and scared of himself. I don't think I've ever seen him look like that before. Don't worry brother, I'm here for you. We'll solve this together, he said, reassuring him in his thoughts. At the same time, Gilda noticed him. "Ray, you are very quiet today. Are you feeling alright? We barely even knew you were here with us this whole time." Upon hearing his name, Ray lifted his head up abruptly. "Huh? Oh yeaa that.. I'm just feeling a little tired. I think that I'll go up to my room and rest now. Excuse me." he said and got up to leave, purposefully avoiding Emma's concerned gaze. It really hurt. And Ray was quite sure that it had hurt the girl herself quite as much too and he apologized to her in his thoughts. 'I'm really truly sorry for avoiding you like this Emma, I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I could and would never hurt you on purpose, just please, please, PLEASE understand.. there is some kind of issue that I'm having right now due to which I was compelled to behave in this way. I promise myself that I'll never, ever do it again'. After Ray had left, there was silence for a while. "I think that he wasn't really comfortable sitting among us here." Don speculated. "We are really actually the ones who drag him here to spend some time with us everyday so I think we should just give him a break now. He's grown up physically but he's still an introvert at heart after all." The others all thought about it for some time and then agreed with him. All except for Norman, who knew better. "I'm going to go and try to talk to him." he said to the others. "Yes, that's a good idea Norman. You two are close right? So I'm sure he will be willing to talk things out with you." Anna said. All this time, Emma was the only one who had remained oddly silent. Why had Ray ignored her so coldly like that? It really wasn't like him to do such a thing. Norman sensed her confusion and distress. "Emma don't worry, I'll talk to him. I'm sure he has a valid reason for behaving as he did. Until then, everyone, just try to avoid approaching him on my request. It's for the best." Norman was in fact, deciding to seize his chance to talk to Ray after he had gone upstairs to his room a while ago but decided to give him some space. He honestly did look as if he could do with a good night's rest. 'I'll talk to him tomorrow evening after I return from work', he thought to himself.

Meanwhile Ray was sitting upstairs in his room, trying to sort his thoughts and feelings out. He was so tired that he did not even have the energy to reach his bed and so he simply flopped down onto the floor, his head leaned back against his rooms wall. One of his hands was covering his face in exasperation. Maybe taking the first step would help. So he cleared his head and started thinking coolly and logically as he had always done. Or at least, attempted to. First of all, he tried to figure out since when did he start having these feelings towards Emma the first time and he was a little surprised to come to the conclusion that it was actually since a couple of months back. 6 or 7 months precisely. The second conclusion that he came to was that they were building up in intensity slowly over time. Maybe that is why he did not really notice or pay attention to them when they occurred back then. He dismissed them as simply a crush/temporary infatuation. But they refused to fade. Instead, they kept raging on and now, in the past 3 to 4 months, they had reached their peak. They were so strong that his eyes got drawn to her automatically whenever she was around. They were so strong that he wanted to pounce on her and hold her tightly in his arms, never letting go. They were so strong that if it was for her, it did not matter what lengths he would have to go to. Ray placed a hand on his chest. And what was this fuzzy, warm feeling that arose in here whenever he thought of her? It was nothing like he had ever felt before, nothing like he had ever read in any book. And this conclusion of Ray's led him to the result that these feelings that he had been experiencing all along were not just simply temporary as he had thought. They were very real and genuine and no matter what other way he attempted to look at it from, they always led him back to the same assumption: He was starting to think of Emma as more than a sibling. There was no other answer and no denying it. But Ray did deny it. 'No no no no no, it's not even possible. I can't be harboring feelings for Emma! Dammit why did have to be EMMA?! It could have been Gilda or Anna or.. anyone but her!' Ray stubbornly refused to believe this truth. Not because he resented falling in love or anything, but rather because he was really ashamed of himself for bringing Emma into something like this. For so many years that they had been together, Ray had always thought of and treated Emma as his sister. He had loved her as a brother and was always looking out for her and had her back every step of the way. He was always ready to listen to her and help her out in anything. And it was still the same. Except that now, things like hugging were getting involved as well. Not to say that they weren't before. They both had even held hands so many times in their childhood but it was always as friends and family. It did not involve any staring or fuzzy feelings which it was now. Which also, according to Ray, wasn't exactly appropriate OR decent, after having considered Emma as family. He groaned loudly. Things were going from bad to worse.

The next day, Ray came down to join the rest of the family for breakfast as usual. Phil saw him first. "Good morning Ray!" "Yo, good morning Phil!" "Hey Ray, how are you feeling now?" "I'm much better, thanks for asking Gilda." Ray said, smiling slightly. "That's great Ray, but it really wouldn't hurt you to give us all a full, beaming smile for once!" Gilda said, teasing him. Ray looked around the table for Emma and Norman. Norman was already there, but at the second table and Emma was nowhere to be seen yet. "She's in the kitchen, helping Anna with serving breakfast. She'll be here in a few minutes, so take a seat." said Don, accurately guessing what was he looking around for. "Oh wait, I forgot my coat upstairs. I'm coming in a minute." he said, then dashed off to get it. When he came back, everyone was already seated around the table, including Emma and Ray too settled down into the only remaining seat ... which was right next to Emma herself and Ray had absolutely no idea whether that was supposed to be fortunate or unfortunate for him. Regardless, he continued keeping his gaze averted from her. Emma, for her part, did notice him next to her. After all, he was her best friend and if Emma was being completely truthful, secretly her boyfriend too.. but if she was awfully sad and concerned after seeing that he was still really quiet and avoiding her, she did not let it show at all. Instead, she continued to talk with Gilda, who was to her right. The truth was, Emma badly wanted to talk to Ray. She couldn't bear seeing him like that at all. It hurt her heart terribly and she really wanted to hold and comfort him from any issues that he might be having but she was strictly following Norman's orders, just like the others. She did keep stealing small sideways glances at him occasionally though, even while she was talking to Gilda. Ray on the other hand, was lucky that the left side of his face was covered completely by his fringe. Because he was blushing beetroot red underneath and his heart was pounding so hard against his chest that he was half afraid that Emma beside him would hear it. Definitely a result of being so close to her in her presence, he realized. Come to think of it now, he hadn't even been around her much ever since he started having feelings for her. The sound of her gentle voice and tinkling laugh was just adding fuel to the fire and finally, he couldn't resist the temptation anymore and stole a small peek at her from a partition in his hair.. then immediately regretted it because he started choking on a piece of bread that he had just swallowed. 'She's so radiant…And her smile.. Goddammit, it's the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen in this world!' Ray started coughing violently as a consequence of the brief choking that had just taken place with him and personally, he was thankful for the distraction this time around because he realized that he had been staring at Emma.. again. She immediately turned her attention to him.. okay not only her, but the entire dining room turned it's gaze on him now and a hushed silence ensued. Although he had already seen this coming, he wasn't prepared mentally for it and he was feeling like wanting to crawl under the table and hide. 'Please stop, I swear this is so awkward. Why am I always the only one who ends up in these kinds of situations anyways??' Emma scrambled to get him a glass of water. "Ray, are you alright?? What happened??" Ray lifted up one of his hands as a signal. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just choked a bit on a piece of bread. Thanks, Emma." However, soon everyone forgot about that incident and went about their daily lives as usual. In the evening, when Norman returned home from work, they all gathered around again for their free time. Except that Gilda and Don got up to leave after some time, so that left only Anna, Ray, Norman and Emma. "Where are you two going?" asked Emma. "Oh, just outside for a walk. It's such a pleasant weather, we thought that maybe taking a round around the area would be a little refreshing." Don replied. "Oh alright. Enjoy yourselves!". So Don and Gilda left, hand in hand. This was a secret that the older kids of Gracefield House shared among themselves. They were all in 3 pairs.. as couples. Norman was with Anna, Don with Gilda and lastly the new couple: Ray with Emma. Norman's gaze landed on Ray, who was looking a little sad as he saw the two of them leaving and on Emma, who was indirectly looking at Ray himself. He decided that this was the perfect chance to talk to him. "Ray, can I have a word with you alone for sometime?" "Oh.. of course. Let's go to my room, if that's fine with you." "Yes, it's completely fine." So they both left Anna and Emma alone to talk and headed upstairs. When they were finally in his room, Norman started. "Ray, is everything alright with you? You have seemed a little down lately." "Down?" "Yes, I mean that you are really quiet and lost somewhere these days.. at least much more than usual. Do you have something on your mind?" "Well.. not really" Ray said, rubbing the nape of his neck. "It's just that I'm reading a really interesting book these days so my mind is always on that." Wait, this is Norman. Why am I lying to him about it?? Ray thought to himself. "A book huh? You sure?" Norman said, playfully teasing him. "Yes, quite sure." I just won't give it up, will I? "I see, I see. So, what does that book have that is so interesting? May I know as well, please?" to which Ray got tongue-tied. Dammit, he caught me completely off guard! He looked back at Norman, who had a smug expression on his face. "Hey, stop it!" Ray said, shoving him playfully. "Alright, alright you win. You got me fair and square, okay brother?" "Yes. I did win. I always get what I want. So now tell me.. what is the matter honestly?" Ray got tongue-tied again, so Norman decided to help him out a little bit. "Is it something about Emma?" "N- NOOO.. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?!" Ray replied, completely flustered, but his bright red face gave everything away and Norman started laughing. "Hey, what's so funny?!" Ray asked him, still really flustered and a bit shocked that Norman had managed to figure it out so quickly. After they both calmed down, he explained everything to him. "Ray, you are turning crimson to the tips of your ears. Literally." he said, trying to stifle his laughter again. "What other proof do I need? And all jokes aside, why are you even bothering to lie to me in the first place? You do know that we are brothers, so first of all, you don't really need to hide anything from me. Secondly, also because I am your brother, I can read you like an open book, Ray. I know what is going on in your mind simply by looking at your facial expressions. And I'm really positive that you know this already too. So in the end, no matter how hard of an effort you make to hide any facts from me, all of your efforts will always be futile. It's better to simply give it up. Besides, I've been observing you these past few days. That is how I knew that you had something on your mind in the first place. I've noticed the way you stare at her and the worry and confusion you have on your face when you are around her, both yesterday and today. And the way you were gazing sadly at Don and Gilda when they left together today.. that alone gives away a lot of information, to be completely honest with you. And I'll let you in on a little secret. I know exactly what you are going through right now, because I went through the same thing with Anna." "Wait.. so you and Anna are…" Norman nodded and gently smiled at him. Yep, me and Anna are together." "Wow.. that's actually great. Tell you what, one of the main reasons that I was afraid of admitting that I have fallen in love with Emma was because I knew that you liked her.. you told me so when we were kids, Norman. So I.. I didn't want to hurt you, of course.. and also because she was always like a sister to me. You can't have any romantic feelings for your own sibling, right? That's really inappropriate." "Haha true that, but we are not really siblings by blood if you think about it, Ray. We are siblings by heart. So it's actually completely okay if the feelings you have for her is more than just as siblings. It's not considered "wrong" in any way. And.. I was very young when I said that. It was so many years ago. I definitely enjoyed playing with her as a child but it was nothing more than that, really. She was just my best friend back then as she is now. So in short.. she's all yours. Go for her, Ray. Before it's too late." he said, clapping him on his shoulder. "And trust me, you won't find any other girl like her in the entire world, ever." "Yes, that's true, our Emma is special in her own way." Ray agreed. "Thanks for all of your help, Norman." "Anytime, Ray. That's what brothers are for, right?" "Yes, definitely." Ray said, smiling a big smile. "Oh and Ray?" "Yes, Norman?" "Come clean to her. Admit everything about your feelings for her with complete honesty and right to her face. Sit her down with you sometime when she is free in private and discuss everything with her. It's important to do and she will definitely appreciate it alot. And who knows, maybe she will even reciprocate them?" he said, winking at him. "Ahhaha, yes, that is an amazing possibility to consider." "Hmmm, and considering Emma's nature, it is actually more than likely a possibility. Plus, she's actually really close to you already.. so you are a super lucky guy, Ray. Also, I would further advise you to make the confession as soon as possible. Because the more you bottle up your emotions inside, the more troublesome it's going to get. And sooner or later, everyone has a breaking point. Regarding Emma herself, trust me, she's already having quite a hard time these days as well. She's been really upset and worried because she has got no apparent explanations or a reason for your behavior." "Yes, I did realize that much on my own. Thanks once again, Norman." "Good luck, Ray!" Talking with Norman had put Ray's mind and heart at great ease and he now knew exactly what was going on and what he had to do next. But what Norman hadn't told Ray was that he knew for a fact that Emma was going to reciprocate Ray's feelings. Just as Norman had been observing Ray, he had been observing Emma too. But he had decided to keep it as a pleasant surprise for his best friend and now he chuckled to himself at imagining first the amount of shock and then the happiness that would be on his face when he found out. 'He really deserves it after all he has been through' he thought to himself.

Ray was sitting in the library, deciding his next course of action. Uptil now, sorting out his feelings had not been that big of a problem and it was mostly thanks to Norman. The confession was what was going to be the real challenge. And that is why he was rehearsing what was he going to say to her to himself over and over again and correcting any errors. "What am I even going to say to her? Wait, how about something like this: "Umm Emma? I want to tell you something. I like you. Very much. No, infact, I love you. Do you love me too? Yes, that sounds good. No, darn it, it sounds so lame and stupid! But what else should I even say? And more importantly, how do I even say it? I don't want to turn her away or offend her feelings or anything. I guess I'll just say that I want to tell her something and then…." Ray was cut off by the library door opening. And who was it at the door, but Emma herself. "Ray, can I talk to you about something?" Externally, Ray completely froze on the spot. Internally, he was screaming at himself for doing so. 'Shit, do something you idiot?!' So in a split second that he had before the door opened completely, Ray grabbed a book that was the closest to him, threw it open and buried his face completely in it, all in an attempt to give off the idea that he was very absorbed in reading. But behind the book, he was badly trembling and his face was turning redder than a tomato. Dammit, why did it have it to be HER again?! The more I'm trying to avoid her, the more I'm running into only her these days!! Gimme a break… pleasee… "Ray… is everything alright with you?" Emma asked him after noticing his shaking. "Yes I - I'm fine. Thanks for asking." he said to her, a little too abruptly and in a flat tone. He was so flustered that he couldn't even answer her properly. What is wrong with me?? Why am I being so rude to her? Even without looking at her directly, Ray could tell from the silence that followed that she was hurt. He took a deep breath and then, after a moment, replied to her more calmly. "I'm fine Emma. Really. What makes you think that I'm not?" Emma started walking directly towards him. Uh-oh, I think that she is going to start a face-to-face conversation with me. What do I do now?? Is this the best time to tell her everything?? She took a chair and sat down right beside him. "Because you have been behaving very strangely these past few days, Ray. For instance, by deliberately trying to avoid me.. and hiding your face in a book at the moment, while I'm trying to talk to you directly." Ugh,she noticed! "Well? Have you got any explanation for that now?" Suddenly, all the stress of the feelings that he had bottled up inside himself since so long became too much for him to bear any longer now and he broke down into sobs. At that moment, Norman's words echoed in his mind. 'The longer you bottle up your emotions inside, the more troublesome it's going to get. And sooner or later, everyone has a breaking point'. Emma noticed his shaking shoulders. "Ray? Are you… crying?" She removed the book from his face and at the same time, Ray decided that he had had enough. So he took a leap of faith and put his arms around Emma's neck. He buried his face in her shoulder, still sobbing. She rubbed his back gently "Shhh, it's okay Ray. It's okay. I'm here now, so let's talk about what's bothering you-" but Ray cut her off midway. "Nothing's bothering me Emma. I swear nothing is. It's just that-that.. I'm in.. I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, EMMA!!!" Emma gasped slightly, and Ray heard it. But he kept rambling on and on, trying to provide her an explanation before she rejected him. "I'm sorry I know you are shocked and I knew you would not like it but I - I'm so sorry, dammit I already said that! I wanted to tell you all this, I wanted to tell you everything earlier but somehow I just couldn't find the courage within myself to. I knew that you wouldn't like it, but I couldn't help it nor keep it to myself any longer, so please before you reject me completely.. please.. forgive me.. I never meant to do anything of the sort to you…". Ray was out of both breath and words now, so hence it was Emma's turn to speak. "Ray… It's okay, really. But you shouldn't have bottled up your feelings inside.. because.. because.. I'm in love with you too!" Wait, I'm dreaming.. She didn't just say that.. right? "What.." "Yes, I mean it. I am in love with you too.. and actually.. it's been going on since a long time.. I wasn't brave enough to tell you either.. but oh, I was so worried about you when I saw that you were so quiet and sad like that! You have no idea how much it hurts my heart when I see you in any kind of pain, Ray.." After all this conversation, Ray was finally at peace within his soul again. He hugged Emma tightly with a smile.. a beaming smile.. on his face now and Emma hugged him back as tightly. "I love you so much, pumpkin. And tell you what, there is actually a lot more that I want to tell you as well.. but let's do that tonight. We will take a walk in the park and I'll explain everything to you. Would you like to?" "Of course! I'd be anywhere with you." So that night when they all had gathered around for their talk, Ray and Emma politely excused themselves and went outside. There, in the garden, under a tree they both sat, with Emma in Ray's arms and her head leaned backwards on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, both affectionately and to keep her warm, for the winter nights were cold. "The weather is much colder tonight than yesterday, don't you think?" "Hmmm, you are right. It is a bit more chilly." "And the stars.. so beautiful.." After a moment's silence, Ray started. "Umm, Emma? Actually, I didn't tell you this, but I had been having feelings towards you since a long time too. And as for the avoiding you.. it was just because everytime I looked at you, I felt like I was going to go mad.. like I was suddenly going to start hugging you or even kissing you.. a few times. And I was so scared of that happening, so that is why I decided that the best way to avoid it was by not making eye contact with you. You are so beautiful that I just couldn't help myself pumpkin. But I'm so so sorry that I hurt you. I never ever meant to, really." he said, while gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's okay, Ray. I completely understand. So let's stay together for the rest of our lives now, okay?" "Is that a proposal?" Ray said, teasing her. Emma immediately realized this and puffed out her cheeks at him in playful annoyance like she always did, turned slightly pink, then finally said "Well.. in a kind of way.. yes." "Then I accept it." he said, bumping her slightly with his fist on her head. Meanwhile, the other young adults had all secretly gathered around the window of the house that looked out onto the garden to spy on the new couple. "Well, finally they're together. Took them long enough." said Don. "They're really cute together, don't you think?" said Gilda. "I knew Emma liked Ray since a long time. She told me so. I'm so glad they can finally be together now. They fit perfectly together too." "You are right," said Anna. "Those two are literally polar opposites. That's why they fit perfectly together. They balance each other out and complete each other.. like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle." "So the rule of science that says opposites attract is not only limited to science itself.. it can be applied to relationships too." said Norman, which made all the others crack up. "Look, look, they are coming in! Move away, quickly!" Gilda said, and all the others dispersed in a panic. So when Ray and Emma came in, holding hands, the others were all already sitting back in their seats like before and neither of them was able to figure out the mischievous deed they had collectively done. However, they were sitting in their respective pairs to give them a small hint. "Welcome to the secret couples group!" said Don as they entered, which made them all laugh. All in all, it was a happy night and they all had a great time, even Ray, who laughed till his stomach hurt like the others. That same night, Emma slept with Ray on the sofa. She was flat on his stomach, with Ray's own arms around her. He covered them both with a blanket. "Good night pumpkin. I love you." he said, kissing her on her head. "Mhmm, love.. you.. too." she said sleepily. It was a sweet night for the couple and a sweet sight for the viewer, namely Norman, who had come to check on them both one last time for the night. He smiled to himself when he saw this. Well done, Ray. You indeed are a very courageous person and I admire and respect you highly for that. I'm really proud of you and I wish you both great joy and genuine happiness in your lives. Stay together.. forever now. Your fates were already intertwined with each other and I can't wait to see what the future brings forth for you both now. Farewell and have sweet dreams. And after giving them his best wishes and prayers, he left for his own room.

To be continued*