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Maybe it was due to Gillian's influence, but Ray noticed a certain change in Emma since the past week.
One day he was minding his own business in the same old shelter. He peered into the dining hall and he saw Gillian and Emma fooling around with pins that Gillian made. They were bursting out laughing, showing each other their creations. It seemed like Gillian was teaching Emma how to make them.
Ray paid no attention to this, really. They deserved to be happy. It was nice to see them bond. It made Ray happy to see the girl he liked express interest in a little hobby.
Ray admits it, he likes her. He likes Emma. He doesn't know how it started, it just did. One day, he was looking at her as a friend. The next, he found himself constantly watching her, wondering what she's up to. Ray was no idiot, he knew that he started to like her that way. A crush, a stupid little crush that he couldn't get out of his head. They were together for the longest time, after all. Maybe it was bound to happen eventually.
However, he would never let his crush get in the way of their friendship. Their relationship was still the same- bickering, protecting, and teasing each other.
Or at least... him teasing her...
What...?
It was fun.
Ray liked how Emma enjoyed herself for the next few days. She was constantly smiling (though she does that all the time). She was making neat, little designs on her pins. She had fun placing them all over the shelter. The little kids liked them too.
Although...
It quickly got annoying.
Ray woke up one morning to find pins in his hair. Ray furrowed his eyebrows and picked them off, slowly blinking and squinting to make them out. Sleepyhead cyclops labeled on one of them. A badly drawn picture of Ray on another pin. Ray groaned in annoyance, already aware of who the culprit is.
Ray flung the blanket to the side, only to have his eyes widen more, utter shock on his face.
The girl made a thousand pins of eyeballs and hid them under the sheets while he was sleeping.
How did she even-?
Ray felt the heat rise up to his face. His hands that held the pins were shaking with anger. "Emmaaaaa..." Ray said, his eyes twitching with annoyance.
He bolted out of the room in search of Emma. Not that it took that long to find her, he knew exactly where she was.
Ray kicked open one of the doors in the shelter. Emma turned the room into her own personal workspace for making pins. They were everywhere. Pins spread all across the table, even on the floor.
Just as he expected, Emma was in there, sitting at a table. She turned around, almost sensing his anger, she dropped the pin she was working on. "Ray..." She said nervously, sweat from fear running down her face.
Ray marched up to her, pulled her out of her chair, and put her into a headlock. "You idiot, you're too addicted to making these stupid pins! Get rid of all the ones you put into my bed! How'd you even do that in the first place?!" Ray yelled at her.
Emma struggled to break free, but it was no use. Ray had her pinned. "Raaayyy, it hurts...!" Emma cried out.
Ray let go of her, crossed his arms, and huffed as Emma lay on the floor gasping. Sure he was angry, but he wasn't really going to hurt her.
"Eyeballs, Emma? Really?" He growled, pointing at the door.
Emma got up, patted the dust off, and gave him a wide grin, seemingly with no regrets on what she had done. "I just thought you could use some since you're missing an eye and all-."
"You wanna die?" Ray growled.
"Scaryyy~!" Emma feigned fear, pretending to shake. Then, she burst out laughing. Ray smiled. He hates to admit it, but his mood changed as soon as he saw her smile. She knew it too, that he wouldn't stay mad for very long.
"Ray, look at what I've made!" Emma said, yanking on his arm. She dragged him over to the table. There lay multiple pins, each handmade and with a little, colorful design of their own.
Ray picked one up. A cute, little pin of a star. "I have to admit, you've gotten better," Ray told her.
"Really?!" Emma leaned in close to his face, her eyes twinkling with happiness and a wide smile on her face.
Only then, Ray realized that she was still holding onto his arm. Ray paused. Did he really want to yank his arm away, though his mind was screaming at him to?
Nah, he was done hiding. He was never one to hide how he feels, now that he thought about it. Bluntness and honesty are the best after all. He's had this stupid crush for far too long. It was time to end it, even if she doesn't feel the same way.
But how would he confess in this situation? Just come out and say, "Yo, Emma, I like you?"
No, no, no. That just wasn't his thing.
Ray glanced at all the pins on the table, and one caught his eye. A giant red heart on a white background. A simple, yet meaningful design.
Ray smirked. He knew just how to do it.
"Yo, Emma, wanna play a game?" Ray said, smiling at her.
Emma blinked in confusion, but soon returned his smile. "Oh? What game?" She asked, confident that she'd win, though she never does.
"Easy," Ray said, picking up a handful of pins. "We each choose a pin that reminds you of the other person. We put them on each other and reveal them soon after. There will be a total of 3 rounds, so 3 pins total that remind you of me, and 3 pins that remind me of you. Simple, right?"
Emma nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Sounds fun! You start?"
Ray smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, close your eyes, Emma."
Emma quickly closed her eyes. She was still grinning from ear-to-ear, anticipating what kind of pin he would put on her. Quite adorable.
It wasn't a hard choice. There was a certain pin Ray knew he would pick first once he got her to play this game.
Ray picked it up and clipped it onto Emma's shoulder.
"Ray, can I open my eyes?" Emma asked as soon as she felt his hands off her shoulder.
"Yeah, go ahead," Ray replied.
Emma blinked her eyes open and glanced at her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"A... giraffe?" Emma asked, staring at the pin.
"Yeah," Ray replied, nodding.
"Why?"
"You look like one," Ray said with a smirk.
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Ray chuckled when Emma pouted at him, pointing a finger at his chest. Ray gave her a smile. "When we were young, you said your dream was to ride a giraffe. I like your dreams, your aspirations. You're not afraid to reach for them, and I think it's amazing," Ray told her truthfully.
"Huh..." Emma said, rubbing a finger over the pin. Ray saw a light pink in her cheeks, likely embarrassed from his compliment. "I can forgive you then. Now it's my turn!" She told him.
Ray nodded and closed his eyes. He heard Emma rustling around, finding the right pin. He jolted back a little once he felt her little hands pat his chest, placing a pin on him.
He had to admit, he was kinda excited. He was curious as to what kind of pin Emma would pick out for him, what she thought of him. He felt all jittery with hope in the pits of his stomach.
"You can open your eyes, now," Emma said.
Ray did just that and saw Emma's smiling face once he did. He looked down at his chest to see what kind of pin Emma put on him.
Ray grabbed Emma by the collar.
"You really do wanna die," Ray growled, pointing at the pin.
"Wait, wait! It's an eyeball for a reason! I swear!" Emma chuckled nervously.
"I'm sick of the eyeballs, Emma," Ray snarled.
"I know, I know! Just listen!" Emma begged. Ray scoffed and let go. "It's an eyeball because I like how observant you are! You're really smart and all because of how well you pay attention to your surroundings. It's because you're so observant that you've saved me and all our siblings so many times," Emma told him honestly.
Hmm...
Ray felt his mouth want to smile. He liked that answer. It made sense to him.
"Fine, I forgive you," Ray shrugged. "My turn again."
Emma nodded and closed her eyes, patiently waiting for the next pin.
Ray knew what his second pin would be. In less than a minute, he clipped it onto Emma's shoulder once again, right next to the one of a giraffe.
"Open your eyes," Ray told her.
Emma immediately looked down at the pin. The grin on her face got wider before she started giggling.
"A sun?" Emma asked.
Ray smirked. "Yeah, something no one will ever get close to."
Emma pushed at Ray and crossed her arms, pouting her lips. Ray let out a laugh at her reaction. Emma's pout soon turned into a smile, and she started laughing too.
"Okay, the real reason is that I think you're bright," Ray said once the laughter died down. "You're optimistic, you're cheerful, and you brighten up people's days. Kinda like the sun. I like that."
The words popped out of Ray as if he had it rehearsed. It was just his honest feelings, but he was extremely embarrassed with how it sounded. This so wasn't like him. Maybe he should never give compliments ever again.
"Actually, forget it," Ray said, ruffling his hair, he reached out to grab the pin on Emma's shoulder. "Let me pick a different pin."
Emma stepped away with a huge smile. "No takebacks!" She chirped.
Ray should have expected that. He sighed in resignation. What's said is done, anyways. Maybe it would earn him some brownie points with the girl.
"Close your eyes, Ray," Emma said, reaching a hand up to cover his eyes. He felt her hand touch his eyelids for a couple of seconds. Then, she removed herself to find a pin that would suit him.
Once again, Ray heard the clattering and rustling of pins before a hand came up and placed a pin on his chest.
"Open your eyes, Ray!" Emma said happily.
Ray opened his eyes and peered down.
"A slobbering dog? Am I supposed to be offended?" Ray asked.
"No!" Emma laughed. "Dogs are loyal. You're loyal too, Ray. You've always been there for me, right by my side. I really appreciate that."
"You couldn't use a knight pin or something? Knights are loyal."
Emma looked at him, tilting her head to the side. "How would I even draw a knight?"
Ray shrugged. She had a point. Her art skills aren't advanced enough to draw a knight.
Ray glanced at the table. There were still hundreds of pins left, though his eye was still only drawn to one. Now that it's the third round, it was time for his plan to come to fruition. He just couldn't help but feel nervous about it. It was still a big deal after all.
"Hey, Emma..." Ray said.
"Yes?" Emma replied, looking up at him with those green eyes she had.
"For the last round, why don't we show each other our pins at the same time? Gotta make the last round special, after all."
Well... The last round would be special either way.
Emma nodded. "I don't mind," She replied.
They both walked up to the opposite ends of the table and began searching for the last pin. Ray pretended to search for a pin, despite knowing exactly what he wanted. He was really going to do it.
He quickly grabbed the pin he wanted and hid it in his hand. He walked back to where they stood, and Emma joined him soon after. Both were careful not to reveal their pins, gripping the pins in their hands tightly.
"We'll close our eyes at the same time and put them on each other," Ray told her.
Emma smiled and nodded. She started counting down. "3... 2... 1..."
Ray closed his eyes, and he trusted Emma did the same. They both began to place their pins on each other, without looking. In the darkness, Ray found Emma's shoulder and placed the pin on her. He's gone too far to turn back now.
He felt Emma's hands also leave his chest. "You finished?" Ray asked.
"Yeah, I did it," Emma replied.
"Ready to open your eyes?"
"I am."
"3... 2... 1..."
Ray and Emma both opened their eyes and peered at each other. Then, at the same time, they both glanced down to see what the final pin on their bodies was.
Slowly, their faces twisted in shock before they both let out piercing screams at the same time.
"What in the world?!" Ray yelled, looking up at her with a red face that he couldn't hide.
"I can't believe this!" Emma also yelled, looking up with the same tomato-like face.
"You... this was my plan!" Ray yelled, pointing at her angrily.
"What?! No! I'm the one who made them, you mooched off of my plans!" Emma yelled, also pointing a finger up at him.
"I'm the one who made the game!" Ray argued.
Emma grimaced before pouting. "I- I hate you!" She cried out.
Ray smirked and ruffled her head, and she let him. "Liar. The pin you chose says otherwise."
Emma's pouting face once again turned to happiness and she started laughing, and Ray couldn't help but laugh too. They both knew what they had to do next. They knew each other well, after all. They held their arms out and came closer for an embrace.
What a coincidence. What a huge coincidence.
They both chose to give each other the exact same pins...
Giant red hearts.