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"Ray, Ray! Let's go eat ice-cream after school!" Emma whispered to the boy sitting next to her. The teacher, Mr. Yuugo, was still giving his lesson to his middle schoolers. Emma, who was sitting in the back, however, wasn't paying any attention whatsoever.
Ray paused his reading and spared a glance at her through his book. Emma saw the small smirk on his face as his eyes lingered on her face. "Are you going to try again today?" He whispered back.
Emma nodded, grinning like a fool. "Same rules as before," She whispered with a sparkle in her eyes. "I try to guess your favorite ice-cream. I lose, I buy."
"Deal," Ray said, before looking back at his book before Mr. Yuugo notices he was also not paying attention. Emma liked how he tried to be the perfect student. Not to say that he wasn't academically successful, but he was paying just as much attention as she was. Emma felt happy simply knowing they were both doing the same thing.
Emma smiled throughout the rest of the class. She was able to score a date with the boy she had a crush on. That's all that matters.
As soon as the school bell rang, Emma jumped up from her seat, almost knocking it over and surprising everyone in the class. She grabbed Ray by the hands. "Come on, Ray!" She said, giggling as she dragged him out the door.
"Stupid lovebirds," Mr. Yuugo muttered under his breath as he watched the two leave his classroom.
Ray and Emma have been friends for a while, ever since elementary school. They were always together, they developed a bond over the past few years in which no one could compete with. Since they got to middle school, their bond hasn't faded in the slightest. On the contrary, Emma developed a massive crush on her best friend. It didn't help that they often hung out together after school, either.
No, that only made her feelings stronger.
Lately, their favorite hang-out spot was an ice-cream stand. Their newest game was trying to guess each other's favorite ice-cream. Ray got Emma's right when they started this game- chocolate chip cookie dough with gummy bears and sprinkles. Ray knew Emma liked her sugar, after all. On the other hand, Emma couldn't guess Ray's favorite ice-cream for the life of her.
Emma made Ray sit at the usual bench nearby while Emma walked up to the ice-cream stand. The man there, Lucas, greeted her enthusiastically, leaning on one arm on the stand, looking down at little Emma with a heartwarming smile. "Welcome back, Emma! What can I get for you and Ray today?"
"The usual for me, please!" Emma chirped, smiling back at Lucas. Then, she squinted at the menu. It was time for her to make her guess. The battle of the century. At this point, she's just about tried everything. It was never Ray's favorite ice-cream. She could only guess. "Cotton candy ice-cream!" Emma cried out her choice.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Cotton candy ice-cream for Ray? I doubt that's his favorite." Lucas said with a nervous chuckle.
Emma shrugged her shoulders. "I'll win eventually."
Lucas laughed and turned around to make the ice-cream for her. As Emma was patiently waiting at the stand, Ray came up to her from behind and poked her shoulder. "So? What you'd choose this time?" Ray asked her.
"Cotton candy ice cream!" Emma answered.
Ray snorted. "You really think that's my favorite ice-cream?"
Emma frowned and sighed. "If it isn't, guess that means I lose again. My money's just about gone at this rate."
"Here's your ice-cream!" Lucas said as he handed the cones to both children, who thanked him.
"Here's the money," Ray said, handing Lucas some cash.
Emma's eyes were wide, but before she could protest, Ray started briskly walking away from her. "Ah, bye, Lucas!" Emma quickly said as she went after him. "Wait, Ray!"
Emma quickly caught up to Ray's pace as they started heading towards a nearby park- their usual hang-out spot. "Wait, Ray, it isn't your favorite!" Emma told him.
"I know, this colorful ice-cream is so not my thing," Ray said, licking the ice-cream.
"If it isn't your favorite, that means I lose! I pay!" Emma said, glaring at him. Ray seemingly didn't like the look on her face, so he hit her on the head with his other hand and caused her to whimper.
"No," Ray said, smirking at her. She rubbed her sore head as he grinned. "I'll pay just this time. You'll go poor at this rate."
Emma smiled since that's what Ray always says. Sure, Emma pays some days when she loses, but Ray always makes sure she doesn't always pay. Even when he loses, he doesn't want her to pay all the time. Perhaps this middle-schooler wanted to be a gentleman? He already was though, since he always ate whatever ice-cream Emma gave him, even if it was one he hated.
It was little things like this that made Emma fall for him.
After they got their ice-cream, they always went to the park to hang out some more. They wanted to spend every moment together. They passed time together until the day turned to night. Then, they must go back to their respective houses and wait to see each other the next day, something Emma always found hard to do.
"See you tomorrow!" Emma said, hugging her best friend as a goodbye. They stood at the entrance of the park, prepared to go their separate ways as the day quieted down. Perhaps it was cheating a little, but she liked the little contact she could make with her crush at the end of every day.
Ray smiled and patted her head. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," Ray told her.
Then Emma let him go. She watched him as he walked off in the opposite direction before twirling around and heading home herself, humming a cheerful tune as she hopped along.
But when the next day came, Ray didn't show up at school.
Emma stared at the seat next to her, utterly confused. Was he sick? He was fine just yesterday! When she hugged him, he didn't feel warm, so he didn't have a fever, right? Or maybe one developed throughout the night while she wasn't around?
But maybe he would be back tomorrow.
And so Emma waited for the next day.
And the next.
But...
Where was Ray?
Soon, a month has passed, and no one knew where Ray was. Rumors were spreading throughout the classroom, and despite Emma constantly asking, administrative wouldn't say anything regarding Ray. When Emma tried to visit Ray's household, she found that they have moved to the city. She couldn't even ask Ray's parents, she had no contact with them. Everywhere Emma went, people gave her sad, pitiful looks, and Emma hated it.
She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to think that Ray left her. Ray would never leave her alone.
Emma looked down, looking at nothing on her table. She would squeeze her eyes shut and her fists tight with anger. She didn't want to look anywhere else, because, at some point, she'd have to look over to her side and see that Ray was no longer there.
"He's probably dead." Came a whisper from the other side of the classroom.
Emma doesn't know why, but she snapped. "He's not dead!" Emma screamed, knocking over a chair as she stood up. "He can't be!"
Silence filled the classroom because of Emma's outburst. Tears started to fill Emma's eyes. They ran down her cheek and onto her desk.
She didn't want to believe it.
She didn't want to face the truth.
And so she ran out of the classroom. Mr. Yuugo gave a hefty sigh and let her skip class. Grieving over someone takes time, after all.
Emma ran and ran, her eyes blurry with tears. She had no destination. She just wanted out of that classroom. Eventually, though, she did come to a stop. It just wasn't where she thought she'd end up. Her feet just brought her there.
The park where Ray and Emma would hang out at.
This place held fond memories. Too many, in fact. So many that it hurt her just to get near this place nowadays.
They would often play on the playground together. They would lie on the grass and leisurely watch the clouds together. On days they would get ice-cream, they would sit on the slides and chat together. Ray would tease her when she couldn't climb the monkey bars. But he would help her up, as he always does.
She missed him.
Though it pained her to do so, she wanted to see the swings one more time. She wanted to grieve more for Ray, the friend she lost. It was on the swings where they had most of their talks. It was there where they ate ice-cream together. Where they had their fun, little games.
But when she approached the swings, her eyes widened with shock. A face she hasn't seen for months.
He was just sitting there, looking the same as always. His body rocking ever so slightly on the swings. He was looking down, but even without looking at his face, she knew it was him.
"Ray...?"
His head looked up, and Emma saw the same shock register on his face.
"Ray... It is you...!" Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper. She could barely contain her excitement. Her tears fell down harder than before as she couldn't believe her eyes. She covered her mouth with both hands, or she might end up screaming.
Then she heard his voice again for the first time in forever.
"Emma...?"
Emma couldn't contain it any longer. She went up to hug him, the same old hug she would do all the time.
"Hey, Emma, wait!" Ray said, standing up and holding his hands out in front of him.
But it was too late. When Emma reached out to hug him, she found that she couldn't.
She phased right through him.
Emma gasped. The experience felt so surreal... No, it was surreal.
"Emma, you can see me?" Ray asked in a small voice.
See him? What did he mean by see him? Of course she could see him, Emma wasn't born blind.
Emma gulped and slowly turned around. For the first time, she looked at him. Really looked at him.
He was transparent. He was Ray, but not Ray. She could see him, but she couldn't touch him. She could see the things behind him that she isn't supposed to see.
Emma's voice started trembling as the words came out of her mouth, barely audible above a whisper.
"Ray... what happened to you?"
Ray had a pained expression on his face. Emma saw him take a deep breath in, then out. Emma waited. She waited for words to come out of his mouth. And when they did, it was her worst fears come true.
"Emma... I'm dead."
Emma couldn't believe what she just heard. Her mind went blank. She fell to the ground, and Ray rushed to her side. It didn't register for a minute. But when it did, she bawled.
Her worst fears came true. Ray was no longer part of this world. He left her alone. She cried for him. She cried for the boy she will never be able to touch ever again.
And Ray... Same, old Ray didn't leave her side as she did.
And so began their new life together.
Emma resumed middle school as usual. While people thought that she was okay now, in reality, she was only okay because she could see Ray now, even if it's as a ghost. No one else could see him. It was just Emma. Ray was now constantly at her side, and he was the same as ever.
He would constantly tease her in class whenever she got a question wrong. The worst part was: She had to ignore him or else everyone would think she was crazy. When she opened a book, he would read over her shoulder, despite not really needing to learn anymore. Ray still had the same old smirk she could see, and the aloof expression on his face that she loved. If he was just near her like this, Emma was happy.
Apparently, he was a ghost because he had a regret left in this world. "Ray, what is your regret?" Emma would ask constantly when they were alone together.
Though whenever she asked, he would give a grim face and look away. He would never answer her.
"I don't want you to know," Ray would tell her.
"How did you die?" Emma would ask.
And again, Ray would shake his head.
"Would you ever talk to me?"
And Ray would smirk. "It's a miracle I can right now, isn't it?"
And Emma would nod.
In a way, Emma didn't mind that Ray wouldn't tell her his regret. If he did, wouldn't that mean that he would leave her? She didn't want that to happen. She wanted ghost Ray to stay by her side forever.
Although she couldn't touch him anymore, Emma was happy. Emma was glad. Glad Ray didn't leave her completely.
Though as time passed, it wasn't the same for Ray.
As soon as Emma soon entered high school, Emma noticed something else about Ray.
Everyone else changed around Emma. All her classmates that she's known since elementary school have gotten taller. Their voices deeper, they were more mature, and Emma was getting there too.
Though Ray... he never changed. His appearance is still that of his middle school self. Yet lately, a new look was on his face. Agony? Regret? Pain?
Ray made sure to never show Emma these faces, but as time passed, it became more obvious. Eventually, Ray just couldn't hide those expressions from her anymore.
He started becoming angry every day. A frown was always on his face. Whenever Emma tried to cheer him up, he would always shake her away.
"Ray, why are you angry?" Emma would ask, sitting on the swings while Ray floated in the air. In the past, he used to walk side-by-side with her, despite being a ghost. Now, she was never able to see him face-to-face since he was always floating above her.
"I'm not angry," Ray replied, feigning a smile. "You're imagining it."
"Liar!" Emma yelled at him. "Ray, tell me already! What's your regret?!"
"It's nothing, Emma," Ray said with a sigh. "Don't worry your stupid little head over it."
But Emma wasn't stupid. She knew exactly why he was getting angrier these days. It all started when she entered high school, did he think she wouldn't notice?
"Ray, come down."
"Why? I don't want to," Ray scoffed.
"Just come down!" Emma yelled.
Ray raised an eyebrow but reluctantly brought his feet to the ground. He would never say no to her for long. Emma got up from the swing and Ray flinched.
"Don't get up," Ray mumbled.
"Why?"
"Just don't get up!" Ray yelled.
But Emma did so anyways. She walked closer to Ray, and Emma saw Ray look away from her with pain in his face, his eyes narrowed with frustration.
"...I'm going," Ray said.
And he flew off. Emma didn't stop him. She watched him fly away, her gaze never leaving him.
Emma's suspicions were right.
Ray was mad that Emma grew taller than him.
Emma spent that night worrying about Ray. What if she made him hate her? What if he had really gone away?
But the next day, Emma walked out her front door to see Ray standing there. "Yo," He greeted.
"Ray?" Emma said, blinking. "Are you... mad at me?"
"I could never be mad at you, Emma," Ray said. Then, he took in a deep breath and let out an equally as big of a sigh. "I'm ready to get over my regret is all."
Emma's eyes widened. "Really?"
Ray nodded and gave her a small smile. "It involves you. Come with me."
And so Emma skipped school and went with Ray. Eventually, she knew something like this would happen. He couldn't stay with her forever. She was mentally prepared for this, or so she hoped.
They walked together for quite some time down a familiar road. Emma cocked her head to the side when she saw where Ray had stopped. "The ice-cream stand?" Emma asked the invisible ghost by her side.
"Yeah," Ray replied.
"Why here?"
"My last regret is not having you pay for the last ice-cream."
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding," Ray said with a smirk, waving her off with a wave of his hand as she pouted at him. "I want to finish our contest."
Emma blinked. "The one where I pick an ice-cream for you? The one I never won?"
"Yeah, that one," Ray said, nodding. "Don't pick a random one. Think of me. Truly think of me. What would I like?"
"I've done that, and they were all wrong," Emma said sadly.
"There's a correct answer," Ray replied. "Find it in your heart, Emma. You know me best, after all."
And so Emma went up to the stand. She's thought of this so many times. What would Ray like? Which one is his favorite? The very first ice-cream she chose for him was full of these thoughts. And so, she chose the exact same ice-cream for him once more and brought it back to him.
"Which one is that?" Ray asked, patiently waiting on a bench nearby.
"...It's plain chocolate." Emma said with a frown as she walked up to the bench, standing right in front of him.
"The very first ice-cream you chose for me when we started this contest?"
"Yeah."
"It's perfect, Emma," Ray said with a smile. "That's my favorite."
Ray laughed as Emma's face started to fill with shock. "What?!" She yelled. "What do you mean it's your favorite?!"
"It's what it sounds like," Ray said, smirking at her angry face. "The very first ice-cream you wanted to pick out for me was my favorite."
So you mean you lied?!" Emma yelled at him. "Give me back my money!"
"Yeah, I lied," Ray replied honestly.
"Why would you lie about that?!" Emma asked, wide-eyed at his confession.
"Because I wanted to spend more time with you."
Emma paused. The shock didn't come at first but was slowly starting to register on her face. Ray was looking away from her, but she could see the tint of pink on his face. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
"If you got the right answer, we wouldn't come back here. We might have gone our separate ways or something. Middle school me was stupid," Ray continued. "I wanted to continue to spend time with you. I wanted to talk to you more in the park, and tease you whenever you chose the wrong ice-cream flavor."
Ray closed his eyes. He sat there on the bench, unmoving for a while. Finally, he opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to look at Emma right in the eyes, newfound courage in his voice.
"Emma, I liked you."
Ray squeezed his hands tighter. He couldn't bare to look up and look at Emma's reaction. He was scared of it. He feared rejection. That was the only reason why he never told her his regret of never confessing to her.
But when he heard crying, his face automatically jerked up. What surprised him was that Emma was smiling. Tears dripped down her face, but she was smiling.
"Ray... I... I feel the same way," Emma confessed.
She brought her face down, her tears falling harder and harder. Ray's eyes grew wide with shock. "I liked you. I still do. You were always there for me, even when you're a ghost. I love you, Ray."
Ray couldn't believe his ears. The love of his life had the same feelings as him. "Wait, really?" He mumbled, getting up. He took one step, then two. He cautiously got closer to Emma. "I can't believe it... all this time... we felt the same way?"
When Ray was directly in front of Emma, he hugged her. Not a real hug, he just couldn't do that. But he wrapped his arms around her figure as she cried.
"Oh, Emma," Ray said, attempting to caress her head. "I like you too."
Ray wanted to laugh at his idiotic past self. The signs were so obvious. He should have done this sooner... when he could still touch her.
Then they both saw it.
Ray's figure started to fade.
"Ray...?" Emma asked, her eyes widening as Ray looked down at himself with a surprised expression.
"Ha... ha ha ha..." Ray started chuckling as he looked at his fading hands. He looked back up at Emma with a sad expression on his face. "Seems like it's time for me to go, eh?"
"No... No, wait," Emma mumbled, trying to grab onto him. "One more day, just one more day!"
"No can do, Emma," Ray said with a sad smile. "But don't worry, you're strong. You can last a few years without me."
"I can't! I can't do it!" Emma cried. She didn't care how many people thought she was crying to herself. She didn't care how many people stared. She needed to talk to Ray. "Ray, stay with me!"
"Guess we'll have to meet again someday, Emma," Ray whispered, stroking her cheek. "I'm not afraid anymore."
Then Emma blinked once.
Than twice.
And Ray was gone.
Emma dropped to the ground and cried her eyes out. She stayed for what felt like hours as if time stood still. People would come up to her and try to comfort her, but she could never tell them what's wrong. She could never say that she lost her best friend and the love of her life.
Ray was gone, he disappeared.
And Emma soon grew up.
Emma graduated high school 4 years later. Time has passed since she saw Ray's face. It was getting harder to remember his features day by day.
His hair was messy, right? Wasn't it black like a raven? Didn't he have small pupils? What about his smile, wasn't it always an annoying smirk? Wasn't that something that she loved about him?
It was time for Emma to enter college. Sure, Emma was able to meet new friends. But she was never able to find someone else special to her. Not someone like Ray. She was fine with living alone for the rest of her life at this point. There was just never going to be someone like him.
As she walked the road to her first day of college, Emma was surrounded by hundreds of students her age. Each one was having fun. Each person was getting into friend groups. Emma, however, decided to skip all those communicating parts and brought ice-cream with her as she walked down the road.
Ice-cream was her last memory of Ray, after all. Even if she couldn't remember anything else about him, she still had this.
As Emma was walking down the road, there was a tall figure who bumped into Emma. Emma couldn't dodge in time, and she got her ice-cream all over his shirt.
"Oh, sorry!" Emma said, flustered, looking in her bag for a napkin to wipe it off with. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention!"
"Chocolate chip cookie dough with gummy bears and sprinkles?"
Emma froze.
Her hand was still in her bag, but she couldn't move anymore. His voice was rougher, deeper, but even then, she could still recognize that tone of voice from a mile away.
Emma looked up, and tears started to fill her eyes once more as if they haven't been doing so for the past 10 years. There stood a man with messy, black hair, a bag slung over his shoulder and a good old smirk on his face.
"I'm back, Emma," Ray said with the deep voice she wasn't quite used to yet. He wiped the tears dripping from her face with big, gruff hands. Hands she could feel. She could feel him now.
"Ray... but how?" Emma said through sobs, reaching up to put her hands on his. She could touch him too. She could touch him.
Emma couldn't stop herself. She took tiny steps forward, and Ray didn't stop her as her arms reached out, embracing him. "I- I thought... you were gone!" Emma said through gasps.
"I told you, didn't I?" Ray said with a small chuckle, hugging her back. He leaned over to nuzzle himself in her hair. "I wasn't afraid anymore... to fight for my life."
Ray smiled as Emma cried into his chest. Then, he let out a soft whisper only she could hear.
"Let's be together, Emma."