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Summer Festival Fun
The early summer evening air was warm and comfortable as all the guys stood gathered together in front of the main house where all the Grace Field kids lived together.
"Damn it, where are the girls!?" Lannion whined impatiently.
"Yeah, I wanna see the festival!" Thoma agreed.
"Easy you two. They're just getting ready." Norman chuckled at their antics.
"Besides, I'm sure they'll be done soon. It will be Emma's first time joining us on an outing like this after all." he added with a small smile.
It had been a couple months since they had finally found Emma again after two years of searching, thought without her memories of them.
Still, they loved her all the same and luckily managed to convince her to come live with them, even if she'd been reluctant to leave the old man who had cared for her while she hadn't been with them.
During their search for her they had learned of many beautiful places and events, thought they had rarely ever attended anything, it feeling wrong to do so without Emma.
The town they lived in still held a traditional Japanese Summer Festival every year and now that Emma was with them they were finally going.
Apparently, even if the part of the world the now lived technically used to be the USA, their area used to have many people of Japanese culture living there and who tended to throw festivals both to enjoy their own culture and to involve others too and soon it had grown out into a yearly event.
A few of the boys were in simple yukatas to go with the theme while others were dressed more casually in t-shirts and pants or shorts.
The girls on the other hand had all decided this was the perfect opportunity to go all out and were taking much longer, the groups from Goldy Pond and Lambda having arrived around the same time from which all the girls had rushed into the house so they could get ready together while the guys caught up.
"Still, if they don't hurry up we're gonna missing everything!" Don joined in with the whining.
"It's only six and the festival lasts for a couple more hours, Don." Ray dead-panned.
"But-" "Will you calm down already?! We're here!" Gilda's voice suddenly called out and turning around the guys spotted all the girls walking their way, all of them wearing colorful yukatas and hair-ornaments and some even had a little make-up on.
"Finally!" the three impatient boys cried only to yelp as the bespectacled girl smacked them each on the head.
"Is that seriously all you have to say when we all went out of our way to look good?!" she snapped, crossing her arms.
She was wearing a mint-green yukata with white jasmine flowers and a white obi and geta sandals on her feet and had a pair of chopsticks holding a bun in her hair together.
"Ah! No, no, no! You look really pretty and I was totally about to tell you that just now!" Don panicked as he waved his hands, making her huff.
"Whatever." she said and stalked off to talk to Anna who was wearing a soft pink yukata covered in cherry blossom petals with a darker pink obi, geta sandals and cherry blossom ornaments in her hair.
Norman chuckled at the display before hearing his name being called and turning around.
He froze upon doing so.
There was Emma.
Emma was coming his way and god, she was beautiful!
Just like the other girls she was dressed up, wearing a sky-blue yukata with yellow sunflowers and orange confetti, an orange obi, geta sandals and her usual little braid at the side of her head was held together by a little sunflower ornament.
The colors looked great on her, the sunflowers matched perfectly with her bright personally and the way how she was obviously still getting used to the geta and struggling a little to walk with them was just so cute!
Only upon receiving a rough nudge from Ray did he realize he was staring and fighting down a blush he cleared his throat before smiling back.
"Hey, Emma. Are you ready to get going?" he asked and she nodded enthusiastically, the trusty antenna on top of her head swinging back and forth.
"Yup!" she answered, making the 'p' pop, "And look at you two! You really did end up dressing up too!" she said as she looked both him and Ray up and down.
Norman was wearing a dark blue yukata with thin while pin-stripes and a light grey obi and Ray was wearing a plain black yukata with a dark grey obi.
Both were wearing their regular shoes however.
"Yeah well, you wouldn't stop bothering me til I agreed so here." Ray shrugged casually while Norman fidgeted a little at having the girl's eyes looking him up and down.
"W-We should get going. I think some of the others will burst if we wait any longer." he said and they nodded so off the went.
"Whoa! Look at that!" they'd finally reached the festival where many stalls with games and food where put up, beautiful lanterns hung up and shining over the stalls and the many people who walked around, enjoying themselves.
"There's so many people and so much to do!" Emma excitedly shook Ray's shoulder, ignoring his attempts at getting her to let go.
Norman chuckled at the display, both at Emma's antics as well as Ray's discomfort before blowing on his fingers to create a high-pitched whistle that gathers the attention of the rest of their group, some already having been about to wonder off.
"Alright, before we all go and have fun, let's go over a few things!" he announced after they all gathered around.
"So since we're such a big group we'll split into groups and everyone can do what they want but the be sure to keep an eye on the younger ones so they don't get lost! Tonight will end with a firework-show and after that we'll all gather here again but even if you wanna leave earlier, you may as long as you make sure to tell someone so everyone will know and if you're younger, someone can walk with you!" he told and they all nodded.
"Okay!"
"Good, everyone has money, right?"
"Right!"
"Alright, then everyone go ahead and enjoy yourselves!" he finally said and yelped when the more energetic members of the group almost knocked him over as they sprinted off, some of the more responsible ones chasing them and telling them to slow down while others casually walked in.
Norman quickly fixed himself and sighed before turning to Emma and Ray, the girl practically vibrating in place.
It was obvious that while she had wanted to run off like the others, she only held herself back because she wanted to stay with him and Ray.
"Well, I suppose we should get going." he told them, making her grin.
"Hang on." Ray stopped before before she could run off.
"Why?!" she whined impatiently as Norman blinked, equally confused.
"What's up?" he asked as he and Emma watched their friend take a few steps away from them.
"Smile." was all Ray said before pulling a camera out of nowhere and flashed a picture of the other two in front of the festival, making them wince at the bright light.
After blinking the little dancing spots and stars from their vision they stared at Ray who was already waving the freshly made photograph to help it develop.
"Nice." he smirked as he stopped and looked at it.
"Wait, hang on! Where did you even get your camera from!? I saw in laying on the kitchen table before we left!" Emma cried as she pointed at him.
"Magic." Ray sarcastically said as wiggled his fingers on one hand, making her groan and ask more.
Norman meanwhile simply decided that tonight wasn't the night to try to unravel the mystery that was Ray and just get the other two to focus on the festival again.
"How about we get going for real this time?" he suggested and thankfully this made Emma stop interrogating Ray.
"Yay!" she cheered as she grabbed both of their arms and started dragging them to join the festivities.
"Oh boy." Ray groaned.
"What do you want to do first, Emma?" Norman asked as he watched the girl look around at everything, bright emerald green eyes sparkling as they tried to take in everything at once.
"I'm not sure! Maybe look around first and- Oh! Look, look, look! Goldfish!" Emma started to say before noticing a stall where many people were trying to catch fish with tiny paper nets and placing them in bowls.
"So much for looking around first." Ray rolled his eyes yet was the forst to make his way towards the stall.
The three watched others for a while, observing how the game went before the worker asked them of they all wanted to try.
"Yes, please!" Emma right away answered and grinned as she was handed a net.
"I think I'll give it a try too." Norman said and was handed one too.
"Not me. I'll just watch." Ray shrugged as he watched his friends kneel down by the tank.
"Bet ya I can catch more fish than you!" Emma challenged Norman who smirked.
"We'll see." he shot back, never one to deny a challenge, even if or especially if it was Emma.
"Let's do it!" she yelled and with that both dipped their nets in the tank.
It turned out to be harder than expected as the fish all swam away much faster than Emma anticipated.
"Shoot! Come on! Stay still already!" she hissed as she chased after a few who all swam under, over or around her net.
"You gotta get your net out of the water! It's paper and gonna dissolve way too soon if you're not careful!" Ray told her as he peered over her shoulder.
"But how am I get a fish then?!" she cried.
"Just stop chasing them all the time! Wait for a fish to come near you and then dip your net in the water as closer as possible and scoop it out!" he told her and she nodded, figuring that made sense.
Following his instructions she took out her net and waited for a few more fish to gather by before hovering her net just above the water til one came to the edge where she moved fast and actually managed to catch it.
"Alright!" she fist-pumped as the little orange fish flapped on her net.
"Don't go celebrating just yet, idiot! You gotta put it in the bowl before-" the paper finally broke and the fish fell back into the water.
"Before that happens..." Ray sighed as Emma gaped in shock.
"Are you serious?! Please come back, fishy!" she cried at the water but the fish was long gone and with her net done for there was no way Emma would be able to catch it again.
"Should have done it the correct way sooner." Ray stated.
"But you didn't even tell me the correct way sooner!" she snapped, making air-quotes at 'correct'.
"Because that isn't even my job! You should be glad I even tried to help you out at all!" he snapped back and soon they were having a glaring-contest that was only interrupted by Norman's laughter.
"Here, Emma, you can have these." he smiled kindly at her he as held out a plastic bag with multiple little goldfish swimming around in it, making her aw drop.
"W-What the-?! Did you win all of these?! How!?" she cried in disbelief.
"I kinda of just did exactly the same from the start as Ray told you." he answered sheepishly.
"Remember when I told you how Norman is always thinking strategy in literally everything? Well, here you go, another fine example." Ray scratched the back of his head as he gestured to the other boy who blushed.
"A-Anyway! I meant what I said, Emma! You can have these guys!" he said as he handed her the bag.
"For real? You're the best!" Emma happily took the bag before throwing her arms around her friend, dropping the bag in the process thought luckily Ray was there to catch them.
"Watch it! Goldfish could die if you jostle them too much!" he yelled, making her gasp and let go of a bright red Norman.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, fishies! I promise to take better care of you!" she right away snatched the bag back and went on a full rant of apologies to the little animals who honestly payed her no mind.
Meanwhile Ray was watching in amusement as Norman tried to pull himself together.
Noticing the teasing look the albino glared back for a moment before quickly fixing a smile on his face when Emma looked back at at him.
"Look! I think they forgive me!" she chirped and nodded.
"Of course they do. Nobody could ever stay mad at you." he played along, heart melting at her sparkling eyes.
Snap.
Both cried out when another flash of light blinded them.
Looking over they found Ray once again developing a picture.
"What?" he asked with fake ignorance.
Emma opened her mouth to retort but stopped when Norman placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, a tired expression on his face.
Figuring he was right and it wasn't worth the effort she nodded and shut her mouth.
Together they left in search of what to do next.
"Where should go now?"
"How about we-" Emma started to say only to get cut off by a loud growl.
"Get so food?" Ray snickered as she glared at him, cheeks puffed up.
"Come on, let's get something to eat." Norman chuckled as he kindly placed a hand on her shoulder.
When she nodded but didn't stop making that face both boys made eye-contact and reaching out they both poked a cheek, making her slowly let out air.
"Guys!" she whined as they laughed at her.
"Let's see what we can get. I'm honestly a little hungry too." Norman said and deciding to be bold he reached down and gently took a hold of Emma's hand, delighted when she right away gripped back.
He also felt pleased to see how Ray pointedly stepped a little farther away from Emma in case she tried to grab his hand too and even more pleased to find that she didn't even attempt to and just smiled up at him.
He gently pulled her to where some of the food stalls were and a few moments later they were sitting at one of the tables that were set up at the center of the festival where people sat, ate, drank and just enjoyed each other's company.
Emma had some takoyaki balls, Norman had okonomiyaki and Ray had yakisoba.
"Are you enjoying your food?" Norman asked Emma who was sitting next to him.
"Tch. Do you even need to ask?" Ray asked from across them as he motioned to the girl who was happily stuffing her face.
"Well, excuse Norman for being polite, unlike you!" Emma retorted for him before looking back at Norman.
"Yeah, I'm living this stuff! Here you should try it too!" she told him before holding one of the little balls up for him.
"O-Oh you really don't have to!" Norman protested but she wasn't having it.
"Oh yes I do! Say 'ahhh', Norman!" she sang as she playfully waved the food in front of his face.
"A-Ahhhh..." he gave in and awkwardly opened his mouth, allowing Emma to feed him.
It honestly tasted pretty good but he was too busy trying to keep his heart from jumping from his chest to really appreciate it.
"See? Not to shabby, right?" she grinned at him after he swallowed.
"Yeah, pretty good." he agreed before noticing her eyeing his own food.
"Please?" she stared up at him and he knew what she wanted.
"Are you sure?" he asked nervously and she nodded.
"Yeah, yours looks so good too!"
"Sharing is caring." Ray said from the other side of the table, immensely enjoying the show.
"A-Alright. Open up." he he gave in and grabbed piece to hold up for her.
"Ahhhh~" Emma opened her mouth with a wide smile, eyes closed as Norman carefully fed her.
"Hmmm! Yummy!" she licked her her lips before wincing at another flash.
"Really, Ray? Again?" she asked Ray who smirked.
"What? I'm just making sure we keep our memories." he said.
"Really, Ray?"
This time all three of them jumped upon hearing a new voice.
Turning to the side they found Anna standing next to their table.
"Hey, Anna!" Emma right away greeted.
"Hey guys. May I join you?" Anna asked as she smiled back.
"Sure you can! Ray, scoot over!" and he surprisingly did so right away, allowing the blonde to sit down next to him.
Was he blushing? His cheeks did look a little darker.
"So, how's it going? Are you enjoying the festival?" Norman asked.
"Oh yes, very much so! Gilda and I found this one stall that sold all kinds of cute things! Oh Emma, I got you this bag!" she handed the other girl a light purple fabric bag with pink butterflies.
"Oh my gosh! This is so cute!" Emma cried as she accepted the bag and held it up.
"It's pretty." Norman said with a smile.
"Yeah and it's perfect for these guys!" Emma added as she dragged the bag with goldfish in it so she could carry them around easier.
"Did you win those?" Anna asked as she peered over.
"Norman did!" Emma threw an arm around Norman who blushed at the closeness.
"Oh, I see. That's nice of you, Norman." Anna nodded and and he awkwardly nodded back before she turned to Ray again.
"Say, Ray? Did I just hear you correctly when you said about wanting to keep memories?" she asked and they all blinked.
"Sure, I mean, I already got a few good shots of these guys." he smirked at Norman and Emma who shared a look.
"I honestly think that's a great idea and I was wondering if you're willing to take some pictures of the others." Anna said.
"Would you please share some time for this?" she asked Ray who for once wasn't sure what to say.
"Sure he will!" Emma answered for him.
"Sharing is caring!" Norman added, enjoying how Ray was now the one all flustered for once.
Hey, he's teased him so many times about Emma so sue Norman for returning the favor with Anna.
"Sure, I guess." he himself finally gave in, scratching the back of his head while trying to look anywhere but at the pink-wearing girl.
Noticing how his friends where now enjoying his awkwardness.
"Great!" Anna beamed nodded, getting up and offering a hand to help her up and allowing her to drag him off to find some of the others.
"You two have fun on your own without me!" he called back, purposely putting emphasis on the fact that they would be alone.
Soon he was gone and only then did it really hit Norman that Ray was right.
He was now alone with Emma.
God help him and his beating heart as said girl blinked up at him with doe-like eyes.
"That was so good but now I wanna do something again!" Emma yelled as she skipped ahead of Norman.
"How about we find a game again?" he suggested, making her stop.
"But all these are ones where you need to fish or scoop something!" she pouted, having lost interest in them already.
"Then how about," Norman looked around before finally spitting something, "How about the shooting booth?" he suggested.
That was a good move judging by how Emma grinned.
"Sure, lead the way!" she said as she linked arms with him, oblivious to how he tensed up as she dragged him.
When they reach the stall Emma right away started scanning the many stuffed toys that could be won.
"See anything you like?" he asked and she nodded, pointing at a blue bear with a bow around it's neck.
"I'm so gonna win that!" she said confidently, making him chuckle.
Soon she was handed a gun and allowed to start shooting.
She hit every target.
"Here you go, kid." the worker smiled as he handed Emma the gun, chuckling as as she squealed happily.
"Here, Norman! For you!" she handed it over to Norman who blinked.
"What?" he looked at the stuffed toy.
"You won me those goldfish so I win you a teddybear! Fair trade, right?" Emma reasoned and he chuckled.
"Well, I nightstand has been awfully empty lately. I guess it will be the perfect spot for this guy." he said, tucking the bear under his arm.
"Great!" Emma grinned before wincing and holding up her hands as if to shield herself and shutting her eyes, confusing Norman.
"What is it?" he asked as he watched her lower her arms and smile sheepishly.
"Sorry. I guess I was kinda expecting another flash of light." she admitted.
"Oh, right. Ray's done it a few times already." he nodded before frowning.
"Say, where do you think Ray is now?" he asked as he looked around.
Emma's squeal drew his attention and he raised an eyebrow at seeing her bouncing in place.
"Look over there!" she grabbed his arm and pointed some direction and following it his eyes went wide and his face broke into a wide grin.
There was Ray, at a ring-tossing game, throwing one last ring before being handed a stuffed cat that he handed over to Anna who happily hugged it.
What more, he had an incredibly tender look in his eyes as he watched her with a smile.
"He's definitely crushing hard on her!" Emma shook his arm giddily and he found himself laugh.
"Who would have seen the day coming?" he joked because really, their stoic, sarcastic, moody best friend falling in love?
Then again, Anna was beautiful, kind and caring and just what Ray needed.
"We are so gonna tease him with this, right?" Emma grinned as she held up her fist for a fist-bump.
"Absolutely." he agreed as he gently tapped her fist with his own before looking back at Ray who took a picture of something and showed it to Anna.
"Good thing this kinda place is the perfect setting for a date." he blinked and turned to look at Emma.
"You'd call that a date?" he asked and she nodded.
"Of course! They're a guy and girl spending time together by mostly by themselves and Ray just won Anna a prize which is totally romantic!" she explained before stopping as her own words registered in her head.
"Ah-!" she blushed as she looked up at Norman who was just as red as he stared at her in disbelief at what she implied.
"N-Nevermind! It doesn't have to be a date! I mean, who do I know?! Ahahaha!" she laughed nervously as she tried to brush off what she said.
"Hehehe... Yeah... How about we get going? I think I could go for a snack and I think I see a couple stalls over there selling all kinds of things." he pointed to said stalls, earning a gasp from Emma.
"I wonder what they have! I bet it'll be yummy! Let's go!" she cheered as she grabbed his hand again and pulled him along.
As they walked Norman couldn't help but think back to what happened moments earlier.
How Emma had implied Ray and Anna were on a date due to certain conditions, though those conditions matched with himself and Emma at the moment too.
They were a boy and girl who were now spending time together on their own and they had both won each other prizes with Norman winning Emma goldfish and Emma winning Norman a bear.
Heck, they've even fed each other!
Wasn't that something couples usually did together?
And Emma, she realized what she had said too right?
Otherwise she wouldn't have panicked the way she had done.
Still, this made Norman wonder about something else?
Why had she panicked like that while she could have just brushed it away?
She also blushed when doing so.
Was she just embarrassed or...
He was snapped from his thoughts when he bumped into her.
Huh. Looks like they reached the stalls already.
"Norman, look! This ones has little candies that look like stars!" Emma excitedly pointed at a couple of bags with said candy.
"Excuse me, sir! What are these candies?" she then asked the stall owner.
"These are called kompeito and they're really sweet so I'm sure you'll love them." the man ezplained.
"How about we buy some and we can share with the others later?" Emma looked at Norman who nodded.
"Sir, can we please four bags? That should be enough for everyone to have some." he asked the man who nodded and handed over the candy.
"Thank you!" Emma grinned before running to look at the other stalls.
"You've got a pretty cute girlfriend over there, lad." the owner said as Norman payed him.
"What?! S-She not my girlfriend! We're just friends!" he protested, waving his hands.
"Ah... I see." the grinned knowingly as the boy's face flushed even more.
"Sorry for assuming, kid. Go back and have fun with your friend." he teased.
"R-right. Thank you for the candy!" Norman nodded and ran to join Emma who was already pointing at different other kids of sweets.
A few minutes later the duo was walking past multiple stalls, looking at the many trinkets being sold while enjoying the foods they had just bought.
Emma had a large amount of soft pink cotton candy while Norman had a chocolate covered banana.
"Which key-chain do you think I should get? The sunflower or the daisy?" Emma asked as she held up two different key-chains for Norman to see.
"Definitely the sunflower." Norman said as he took the daisy one and placed it back to where she got it.
"It fits your personality better." he told her.
"If you say so." she said and went to pay.
Norman smiled as he watched her talk to the worker cheerfully before he heard something coming his way.
It was familiar and moving fast. Like, really fast.
'Oh no...' he thought to himself before turning around.
"Ayshe, please wait! I really don't-" he tried to say before multiple dogs pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.
"Arg! Ugh! Ayshe!" he cried as he tried to push away the dogs who were all pulling him in multiple directions by his clothes, one even nipping at his hair.
"Norman!" he could faintly hear Emma calling his name but he was a little too busy to care.
It went on for a few minutes before a soft whistle made the dogs all stop and walk back over to Ayshe who had a small smirk on her face.
"Great. Thanks a lot. I'm covered in dirt and dog-slobber." Norman grunted as he stood up to glare at her.
"You look a lot better like this, though it doesn't help much." she shrugged before walking off, dogs trailing behind her.
Norman sighed at that.
He supposed he shouldn't really complain since a couple of years ago Ayshe wanted him dead and just letting her dogs on him to mess with him wasn't too bad.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked him as she brushed some dirt from his shoulder.
"Why does she always treat you like that? Everyone else likes you but she's always snarky and setting those dogs on you. Why is that?" she asked again and he sighed.
"Let's just say that I once did... something... something I'm not proud of." he ran a had through his hair, frowning at how sticky it felt.
"Here, let me help you." Emma giggled and reached up to help fix his hair.
"Thanks." he sighed again, running a hand down his face before realizing something.
He hand both his hands free.
"Oh, Norman! You dropped you banana!" Emma pouted, having realized too.
In the back of his mind Norman couldn't help but wonder if Ayshe had caused it on purpose. Probably.
He jumped when Emma shoved her cotton candy in his face.
"Here! I've got more than enough of this stuff so we can share!"
He shook his at at her offer, "You really don't have too!" he said.
"Yeah, I do! Vould on, I insist." she told him and knowing she wouldn't drop it he hesitantly ripped off a small piece of the sugar-cloud.
Knowing she wasn't gonna drop it he gave in and ripped a tiny piece from the pink sugar-cloud and put it in his mouth.
It melted right away.
"Sweet, right?" Emma asked before happily taking another bite herself, making Norman chuckle.
"You're sweet." he found himself saying without thinking and right away froze as Emma stared at him.
"I-I mean it's sweet of you to share your cotton candy with me!" he corrected himself.
"Right... No problem." Emma nodded sheepishly and offered him another bite.
Then multiple people started running past them, confusing them.
"Ezcuse me but could you tell us where everyone is going?" Emma asked a random girl passing.
"The fireworks are gonna start in a few minutes so everyone is heading to the nearby field where we can see them best. You should go too if you wanna find a good spot." the girl answered before leaving to join the crowd again.
Emma and Norman turned to look at each other.
"Shall we?" Norman asked, holding out his hand.
"Let's!" Emma took it and off they went.
The field everyone gathered in was nice and large, allowing many people to gather and stand or sit in the grass.
"This spot seems good." no sooner than Norman said this, Emma plopped herself down, dragging him along.
"Gah! Emma, be carefully!" he cried as he almost toppled into her, barely managing to keep himself upright.
"It's fine! Look, there's some of the others!" Emma said and following her finger he sure enough saw Don, Gilda, Thoma and Lanion, the Goldy Pond group and even Ray and Anna who were cuddled together.
"It's starting!" she pointed at the sky and looking over he saw that sure enough multiple fireworks were being launched to fly up and explode in beautiful colors.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" she asked, eyes sparkling in joy and amazement.
"Yeah, beautiful..." he agreed, however he wasn't looking at the show but at the girl next to him in awe at how she seemed to glow.
She then turned to look at him and froze, a blush covering her face.
Realizing he was caught Norman also blushed and forced himself to look away, pretending to look at the fireworks.
It was useless in the end as Emma weakly called his name.
Slowly he looked back at her and found her nibbling her lower lip and eyes looking down.
'She's so cute!' he thought.
"S-Say, Norman?" Emma called him, making him stiffen nervously.
"Yes?!" he blurted.
"I had fun tonight." she said as she looked up, catching Norman off guard before smiling tenderly.
"I'm glad." he said because really, Emma being happy was all he cared about.
He was surprised when she shook her head.
"I don't mean just that I had fun! I mean that I had fun with you!" she cried and Norman felt his heart speed up.
"Emma..."
"I-I really enjoyed us spending time together, just the two of us! Listen, I know I lost my memories and I don't remember any of our past together but I do know that right now, I feel comfortable and happy around you and if it's alright with you than I would love to spend more time with you by just ourselves!" she shouted the last part before swueezing her eyes shut.
"E-Emma?!"
Was she really implying what Norman thought she was implying?
"Norman, will you go on a date with me sometime?!"
She was.
His whole body felt hot and his heart was beating a hundred miles an hour and yet Norman felt oddly calm.
More so, he felt at peace.
Ever since finding out the truth back when he was eleven all Norman had done was for Emma, putting himself aside but here they were, Emma not wanting to try to be with him.
Slowly he reached out a hand and gently cupped her cheek, making her open her green eyes to look into his soft blue ones.
"I'd like that." he almost whispered, feeling himself melt as Emma beamed up at him.
She then caught him off guard once again by suddenly leaning forward and kissing him at the corner of his mouth.
Norman sat there on shock, trying to progress what just happened and when Emma grinned at him he let out a breathless laugh.
A couple of loud bangs made him look up to see multiple fireworks bursting in may different colors as the crowd cheers.
"That really is quite a view." he said.
"Yeah, a pretty nice view too." he blinked and looked at Emma he found her grinning impishly at him.
Realizing she wasn't talking aboutthe firework he grinned back and gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him as they both laughed.
"Is everyone here?" Norman asked after the fireworks had ended and everyone had gathered together again to go home.
"Right!" multiple voice answered and he nodded.
"Then let's go home." he announced and they all started walking.
"Had fun?" Ray asked as he walked nezt the the albino who nodded.
"I suppose you could say so." he answered as he looked over at Emma who was talking with Anna and Gilda as they walked.
"Hmm. I bet." Ray said and help up a couple pictures.
Norman's eyes widened upon seeing them.
In Ray's hand were pictures of Emma handing him the teddybear, of him and Emma sharing cotton candy and even of one from behind them, right as Emma kissed him with multiple fireworks going off in the background.
"W-What the- When did you even take these?! You weren't even there for most of them! And the last one! I saw that you were some but in front of us to the side and not behind us! How in the actual hell-" "Ah! Watch your language!" Ray smirked as he teasingly waved he pictures.
"Don't worry about the 'how?'s, buddy. Just know that these will be getting their own special photo-album along with the ones from your upcoming date."
"WHAT?! Ray, don't you dare try to follow us! Hey, are you even listening?! Ray! Don't ignore and walk away from me like that, Ray! Ray!"
The End