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Emma blinked awake.
She sat up and looked around. No... she didn't wake up because there was danger nearby. Everyone was safe. Everyone was still sleeping.
Emma was out on a journey looking for The Seven Walls, along with Gilda, Don, Violet, Zack, and Ray. In their journey, they often had to sleep outside. Sure it wasn't as comfortable as the beds back at Grace Field House or the shelter, but it had to be done.
Still, Emma wasn't that much of a light sleeper. She had to question why she woke up all of a sudden. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure peering at her with cold eyes through the darkness.
"Emma, you woke up?" Ray asked. He was leaning by a tree just a few feet away from her, keeping watch on the group and for any wild demons. Guess it was his turn to keep watch. That, or he couldn't sleep and switched out with whoever was on duty. Ray did that a lot.
"Hmm, yeah," Emma said, rubbing her eyes and letting out a big yawn. "Wonder why I woke up. It's not like me."
Ray gave a slight frown. "That's probably my bad. I was making some noise while keeping watch. You can go back to sleep, Emma."
Emma looked up at the sky, searching for the moon. "Ah, looks like daybreak will be coming soon. I'll just stay up then."
"Suit yourself," Ray said, giving a small shrug.
Emma crawled out of bed and inched closer to Ray. She decided to sit right next to him, plopping down on the grass and giving the boy a smile. He didn't return it, rather, he was seemingly ignoring her.
"So, what kind of noise were you making?" Emma asked.
"Just humming," Ray replied.
"What song?"
"None of your business," Ray scoffed.
Ray sighed and closed his eyes, seemingly relaxing. It was probably easier for him to relax knowing that Emma woke up. He wouldn't have to pay too much attention to his surroundings, he trusted that Emma would do that with him.
Though Emma decided not to go back to sleep, she was quickly getting bored of staying awake. "Ray, want to play a little game?" Emma asked, grinning.
Ray kept his eyes closed. "No," He replied quickly.
"I didn't even tell you what game yet!" Emma pouted, shaking Ray's shoulders.
"No, nighttime is the time for keeping watch, not playing games," Ray told her.
"I don't see your eyes open right now!" Emma teased, her smile getting a little wider.
Ray blinked his eyes open. Emma saw a little furrow in his eyebrows, obviously annoyed with her. "No- Well, that's because..."
Ray didn't finish his sentence. He looked away from Emma, but Emma could tell he was embarrassed. Maybe she shouldn't have teased him. Him being that comfortable around her was a blessing, she shouldn't ruin it.
"Come on, Ray, just a little game?" Emma persisted, glomping onto Ray's back in a fun fashion.
Ray turned his head slightly. His face was very close to Emma's. She didn't think that through, did she?
Emma blushed a little and removed herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so close to you," Emma muttered.
"Fine."
"Yes?" Emma said, blinking.
"A game, right?" Ray said, his back faced her. "Though if I win, I want a prize."
"Ohoho? High stakes, is it?" Emma said, grinning. Ray looked at her and gave Emma a smirk.
"What's the game?" Ray asked.
Emma got up and pulled on Ray's arm. "Get up, Ray. Let's go lay down in the fields."
Ray didn't question it. He followed Emma to a nearby wide open area, still close to where the rest of their group were. They stood there for a bit, taking in the scenery. An open area where they could see the endless sky, just what Emma wanted. The only noise was the wind blowing, also perfect for a conversation.
Emma fell to the ground, spreading her limbs out and wide. "Ray, lie down with me!" Emma exclaimed.
Ray obliged, lying down next to her. As soon as she did, Emma started explaining her game. She pointed up to the sky, confident look on her face. "Easy game, whoever can name the most constellations wins!" Emma chirped.
"Oh, I win," Ray said bluntly.
Emma turned her head towards him and glared. "What?! We haven't even started!"
Ray turned his head towards her and gave her a smirk. "Who do you think I am? I memorized the constellations back at Grace Field House a long time ago. Is this even a challenge?"
Emma groaned. Yeah, what was she thinking? Ray was just being Ray. Smart, devious, Ray.
"Okay, okay," Emma said, "Whoever can name the most in 3 minutes."
"I'll still win," Ray commented.
"Hey! We don't know that!" Emma said, glaring.
Ray shrugged. "Alright, be my guest," He said, letting her start.
Emma rattled off the most constellations that she knew. For her, this was a contest of speed. As long as she kept naming them off, she was sure to name more than Ray.
But as the seconds went by, Emma started faltering. Her pace slowed down, and she became confused. Did she already say Orion? What about Scorpius?
Once the 3 minutes were up, Emma heard a snort from her side. When she looked over, Ray had his back facing her. She could see his body twitching, obviously him trying not to burst out laughing.
Inevitably, Ray started laughing, and Emma felt her cheeks go red. "Q- Quit laughing!" Emma hissed, punching his shoulder, though that only made him laugh more.
"What did I tell you?" Ray said as he continued snickering. "Are you really Grace Field premium goods?"
Emma pouted. "I'd like to see you do better!"
And so it was Ray's turn. Like Emma, he rattled the constellations off, quickly and precisely. Emma stared at him as he continued on and on, his pace never faltering like hers. By the end of the 3 minutes, he was still going strong.
"Wha- how'd you do that so well?" Emma complained.
"It's easier if you visualize them and their locations in your head," Ray said, pointing at his brain. "You rattled them off without thinking about it. You got lost due to that. That's the difference between you and me, Emma."
Ray gave her another one of his annoying smirks and Emma groaned in frustration. Ray was right. She was definitely doing that when it was her turn. It was no competition.
"Fine, fine," Emma said, sighing in resignation. "You win. What kind of prize do you want? I can't buy you anything, you know."
"I don't want any material goods," Ray replied. "Just give me your hand."
Emma blinked. "My hand?"
"You heard me."
Emma was surprised, but she slowly reached her hand out towards Ray. Seeing this, Ray grabbed her hand and firmly held it in his.
"Hmm..." Ray muttered, rubbing his fingers slowly on Emma's hand. Emma flinched as he did. It felt weird. Just what was Ray doing?
They stayed like that for a while, simply lying there on the grass and staring at each other, with Ray sliding his fingers across her hand. Tenderly... Carefully...
After about 5 minutes of this, Emma jerked her hand back. "Ray, are you done?" Emma asked with a tint of pink on her face. Though she didn't know why, she was getting embarrassed for some odd reason.
"Nope," Ray replied.
Emma saw Ray sit up and look at Emma. Emma flinched under his gaze, though she didn't get up. Why was he looking at her like that?
Rather, has he always been looking at her like that?
"Say, Emma, you know why you woke up?" Ray suddenly asked.
"Because... you were humming?" Emma whispered, and Ray shook his head.
"I admit that it's my fault, but not because I was humming."
Suddenly, Ray got on top of her, shocking Emma. He had both hands on the side of her head, and his hair fell over his face. He was looking at Emma in a weird way that Emma couldn't exactly describe. Affectionately...?
"You know, Emma, you haven't really woken up before," Ray said, twirling her braid around his fingers. "This would be the first time you're awake for it."
Emma watched with wide, bewildered eyes as Ray leaned down and pecked her on the lips. Emma's mouth dropped open as she watched Ray give her that small, annoying smirk.
"Hmm... As I thought... I like this face way better than your sleeping face," Ray said, chuckling.
He got off of her and started walking back to the group. "Morning's just about here, I'm gonna wake up the others," Ray said as he walked off, waving behind him.
Emma sat up and stared in disbelief. "Hey, wait!" Emma called out, jumping to her feet. "Just what did you mean by that?!"
Ray spared her a side-glance and a smirk. "Figure that out, yourself, Emma~."
That smirk was annoying her. She ran after him, ready to tackle Ray to the ground.
How dare he make her heart thump wildly for him... and for the days that follow.