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Norman started his afternoon just like any other. The sun was peeking out of the clouds for the first time in weeks and the snow from the previous day's snowstorm had melted, leaving the ground mushy and uncomfortably damp. Norman could feel the mud sticking to the soles of his Converse as he walked with Ray to the school parking lot. They were chatting about some new indie band and Norman had gotten Ray to agree to burn him a copy of his CD (not like Norman couldn’t buy his own but the only music store was a half-hour drive out of the way). They passed by hoards of couples, each girl seemingly clutching a plushy of some sort or chocolates while the guys held their hands and grinned dopily.
Norman was a sensible guy– everything about him was extremely practical. He cut his hair every month into a nice respectable style, stuck to wearing a knit sweater and baggy jeans, and had his entire future planned out perfectly. He had a group of friends who he loved and cherished deeply while still balancing his academics (in fact, he was at the top of his class). Norman had a perfect life on paper and he was content with living each day to the next. He didn’t mind that he was single. It was perfectly normal to be single at seventeen and it didn’t matter that nearly everyone in the school was paired up.
Well… maybe it would not have mattered if it wasn’t for the fact that he had the biggest crush on a girl that was totally out of his league. Like seriously, she was perfect. Emma Gracefeild was everything Norman Ratri was and more. She was smart, kind, funny, and beautiful. While Norman was mousy and quiet, Emma was bold and lively. While Norman was book smart and studious, Emma was people smart and one of the quickest learners Norman knew. She lit up a room just by walking in it, while Norman would most likely blend into the shadows of it (and Ray would probably darken the room entirely), and in return, everyone welcomed her with open arms. Emma was popular– and not in a bitchy way. No, Emma made friends like magnets attract and she loved each and every one of them dearly. She was pretty, popular, and probably the nicest person in the entire school.
So yeah, maybe Norman did have a slight problem in his life. And to at salt to the wound, Emma Gracefeild was Norman Ratri’s best friend. He had to see and talk to her every single day while biting back his own feelings for her. It sucked.
“You should ask Emma out”, Ray said as they neared the parking lot. Ray was Norman’s other best friend, the ying to his yang and the peanut butter to his jelly. Despite Ray being a near polar opposite of Norman with his raven side-swept hair, black skinny jeans, and self-destructiveness, Ray knew Norman inside and out almost eerily. Whatever Norman was thinking, Ray was thinking it too. And it sucked because Ray had known exactly when and why Norman started liking Emma.
“What?”
Ray eyed Norman through the corner of his one visible eye in a way that meant ‘Dude, you are such a fucking loser just ask her out.’
“You heard me. Ask Emma out. It’s obvious that she likes you and what better day to ask her out than Valentine’s day?”
Norman felt his cheeks redden. There was no way Emma liked him back. Why would she? Norman was a geeky nerdy quiet kid who was better at reading books than he was people while Emma was the world’s most ethereal being. She totally did not like him.
“She doesn’t like me.”
Ray rolled his eyes (or at least Norman assumed he rolled both of them. No one had seen Ray’s other eye since the seventh grade when Ray made a MySpace account) and sighed dramatically.
“Whatever. I’m out. Tell Emma I said ‘hey’.” He threw up a peace sign and hurried away to his car where Ayshe was waiting for him, leaving Norman all alone. He knew that Emma would be waiting for him by his car. He had taken up driving Emma home ever since he got his license since Emma had failed her driver’s test multiple times and honestly, it was a double-edged sword. On one hand, he got to spend more time with Emma. On the other hand, he got to spend more time with Emma. God, it was terrible being in love with your best friend.
Sure enough, Emma was waiting by his car, leaning against it ever so slightly. Her wild red hair was tied back into a low ponytail and she was wearing those jeans that Norman really liked (the low-cut ones with the jewels on the back pockets) and a pink top. Despite not having a date herself, she must have been feeling festive for Valentine’s day. Norman didn’t know why she chose to be single this year around. It wasn’t like she didn’t have a bunch of guys basically throwing themselves at her feet. Norman swore she got asked out like fifty times in their senior year alone.
“Hey, Emma”, Norman said sheepishly, still not fully recovered from his conversation with Ray.
Emma smiled at him but it wasn’t her usual bubbly smile. Instead, it was tense and tight.
“Hey, Norman.”
“Ray’s going out with Ayshe so it’s just us today”, Norman said. Usually, the three of them would all meet up at one of their houses to hang out. Sometimes though, it was just Norman and Emma when Ray decided to hang out with Ayshe instead. Ayshe was Ray’s girlfriend who was surprisingly more emo than he was, which was saying a lot, and hated Norman with a burning passion. So the four of them hardly hung out together. Not that Norman was complaining.
Emma scowled.
“They’re probably celebrating Valentine’s day by going to a graveyard and fucking”, she said, clearly upset. “It’s so stupid that they’re together. Besides, I was like nighty-percent sure that Ayshe was a lesbian. She’s probably only with Ray because he wears jeans from the girl's section and kinda looks like a girl with his stupid fucking hair. God, they piss me off.”
Norman frowned. It was rare that Emma ever got upset, especially at people she was friends with. It was unusual for her to take a jab at Ray and actually mean it. He wondered if she had a bad day or something and braced himself for the worse.
“Everything okay, Em?”
Emma took a step forward with a surprising vigor, stopping her foot down only a few inches away from Norman’s own shoes and looking up at him so that her forehead nearly collided with his nose. Her emerald eyes were burning feverishly like they always did when she was about to do something brash, and she grabbed Norman’s arms tightly.
“No! It’s not!” She cried, begging to shake him. Norman tried to take a step back away from her, uncomfortable with how close she was, only to find himself backed into his car. He peered at the straggling students now all gazing at the two of them curiously after Emma’s outburst and wished he was anywhere but here.
“Wh-what’s wrong, Emma?” He nervously croaked.
“What’s wrong is that it’s Valentine’s day and I’m completely alone!” She nearly screamed like a small child when they didn’t get their way.
Norman furrowed his brows in confusion. Half of the school was in love with Emma. How could she not have had a date on Valentine’s day if she wanted one?
“Tons of guys asked you out, Em. You could have gone out with one of them.”
Emma let out a loud sigh and shook her head. Her grip on Norman only tightened and Norman could feel his arms begin to numb. She might have been short, but Emma was not a force to be reckoned with.
“I don't want them! I don’t like them, Norman! The only guy I want is a complete idiot who doesn’t even notice that I like him even though I’ve been dropping hints for the last two years! And I know that he likes me because everyone says he does! He’s the world’s biggest idiot!’ She screamed at the top of his lungs.
By now, half of the school was out watching them. Even a few teachers poked their heads out to watch the two go back and forth. No one dared to say anything, though.
“Okay…”, Norman started slowly. He needed to comfort Emma. As much as it hurt him to think of Emma liking somebody, he needed to be a good friend and tell Emma that it would be alright. But seriously… who did Emma like? “I’m sure he just doesn’t know that you like him, Emma. I don’t even know who he is and I feel like if you’ve been dropping hints all year, I would at least have an idea as to who it is. Maybe I can help you win him over?” He offered.
Emma did not reply. Instead, she let go of Norman and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down to bring their lips together. Norman had no time to process the kiss, his lips stale against hers. He played back their conversation in his head, still struggling to piece everything together. Suddenly, it all hit him like a ton of bricks. The guy Emma liked, the guy Emma wanted to be her Valentine, the guy Emma had been dropping hints to… was him.
Holy shit!
Norman’s lips curled into the biggest smile he had ever smiled, forcing Emma to back down. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. She looked fragile with her eyes watery and her lips the brightest shade of pink Norman had seen them. For all her talk and kissing, Norman wondered if she felt just as nervous as he did.
“Emma… I…”, Norman started, lost for words.
Whatever. He didn’t need words.
Norman wrapped his arm around Emma and pulled her close to him. He heard her gasp as their bodies collided and he cupped her cheek with his other hand, pulling her in and kissing her back with years’ long worth of yearning. It was Emma’s turn to still against him, but unlike Norman, she regained her composure quickly and kissed him back with an equal passion. Norman did not know how long they kissed– it felt like seconds and hours all at once.
The crowd around them erupted with cheers, students and teachers alike. Emma pulled away from him, now blushing a furious shade of red. Norman was personally keen on ignoring the crowd and continuing to kiss Emma, but he had to admit it was kind of weird having an audience. He smiled at the crowd, embarrassed when he spotted a familiar blob of darkness standing in the center of the on-lookers.
“I told you so”, Ray smiled.
Norman didn’t even care that he was wrong.