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It was late in midnight when it happened, Ray was awoken from the sounds of thunder and lightning, and the screams of his dear mother, isabella; He sat up and grabbed his phone as he scrolled mindlessly through his phone in an attempt to sound out the sounds of yelling that could be heard through the thin walls of his very crumbled home, Isabella was having another one of her episode and Leslie, being the ever brave soul attempted to calm his hysteric wife yet no to avail; Isabella was bipolar, that would explain her constant mood swings that shifted to being a pleasant mother to a ticking time bomb that could set off if you do something as simple as spilling over coffee on the table she has recently just freshly cleaned.
As the yelling slowly descended to faith sobs, the young boy let out a breath of relief; unaware he was holding his breath at all, Although he was glad Leslie managed to handle isabella on his own without needing the help of Ray as there were certain times where Ray had to get involved when Isabella threw a fit, such as that time where Isabella was over the roof after Leslie was caught relapsing on Heroin and Isabella was more than willing to stab the living crap out of what, she claimed to be as her beloved husband whom she would kill a person for was now threatening to end that very person with a kitchen knife; Ray had to promptly stop isabella from making her do anything that she would later on regret after she has come to the right senses.
After the incident was over, Isabella had apologized so much that Ray thought he needed to get his ears checked to see if they were still functioning; They were, thankfully.
Ray knew how much his parents struggled, both financially and and mentally; Leslie was a drug addict whom often consumed drugs such as Heroin or Cocaine, however thanks to Ray's relief, he had been getting professional help after he was caught selling drugs in the Alleyways of Goldy pond and was promptly arrested for 4 years.
Ray was only 7 years old when it happened and Isabella did everything in her power to prevent Ray from knowing the truth by lying and claiming that his Father went abroad to look for more job opportunities; Thanks to Isabella's years of lying to her parents, Ray believed it. He only found out about the incident after snooping in Leslie's office and accidentally stumbling upon his personal records that included his criminal record that Ray found out that Isabella was lying; He was shocked and disappointed at Isabella from hiding this huge secret from him, he could understand her perspective.
As the sounds of his parents grew softer and softer, Ray set his phone aside; letting his eyes rest after he spent hours on his device. It was pouring like cats and dogs outside; as he stared into the distance of his window that became foggy due to the clouded weather; he hazily stared at his window before spotting a..white ball? or whatever it was, he blinked in an attempt to get his eyesight to focus.
No, that's not a dog, that's uhm...is that Norman? What the hell is he doing in the rain, in my window of all places? Ray thought to himself in a midst of confusion and doubt, contemplated if he should open the window and let the drenched male version of snow white to enter his room; soaking his carpet that he would have to wash later on or let him die and freeze in this weather, although Ray was not that harsh, he reluctantly decided to let the poor damsel in distress inside his room.
Ray groaned, as he slide his slippers on and swiftly unlocked his window, with a very much unamused expression on his face as he spoke in a exasperated tone,
"I'm not sure what you have gained to walk in this weather aside from contracting a cold but I'd prefer not letting you die on my conscience so get in." Ray held out his hand to Norman; and Norman willingly latched on his hand, pulling himself up to the window as Ray felt the cold hands of Norman wrapped against his own.
As expected, Norman drenched his heart shaped carpet that Ray has gotten from Isabella as an apologize gift; He lifted his shoulders in a loose, effortless shrug, palms turning slightly outward as his brow arched--clearly confused and unimpressed with Norman's tactics; he was about to open his mouth to speak but the damsel in distress suddenly sneezed cut him off; Ray chuckled, "Need a towel, my prince?"
Norman blinked once, then twice as he processed his newfound nickname before nodding, "Yes, please." as soon as the words escaped from his mouth, a towel was violently thrown at his direction, causing him to yelp in surprise before he was quickly shushed down by Ray--Urging the albino not to speak louder than he should be.
"Shh, you'll alarm my parents." Norman nodded, as he grabbed the towel that landed on the floor next to him and buried his face in it first, muffling a groan as warmth replaced the chill. Then came the full-body scrub--vigorous, almost comical, Ray chuckled, "You allergic to water or something?"
Norman gave him an unamused expression, "You know I get sick easily."
Ray rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah..just hurry up."
Norman nodded, as he continued to dry himself before he got sick; Ray stared at him, contemplating his next course of action. "Why did you come visit me, in the rain of all places?" He questioned, as Norman gave him a confused look before saying, "You said to come over?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
HUhuH? Since when?" Ray titled his head in confusion as Norman showed him a message, *his* message just a measly hour ago, saying *come over.*
The two stood in a state of confusion, Norman spoke; "Were you daydreaming..?"
Ray sighed, rubbing his temples. "Most likely, or someone hacked into my phone."
Norman chuckled, "I know your phone it's not that easy to be hacked."
Ray rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah."
"Trust me, I tried." A hint of malicious is seen through his eyes before being replaced by Norman's sweet and innocent look.
"What?" Ray blinked
Norman giggles, "Nothing! Can I still stay over?"
Ray contemplated, he had his doubts on whether to allow it but as soon as Norman threw those stupid puppy eyes, he begrudgingly agreed.
"Fine, whatever but I'm gonna go sleep." Ray yawned, as he flopped onto the bed like a dead fish, with Norman following suit.
As the raindrops fell on Ray's window, they lay on the bed, facing each other, legs tangled in a way that wasn’t graceful but felt right. One reached out and pulled the other in, not with some dramatic flourish, just a simple, tired kind of closeness. Arms slid around shoulders, a cheek pressed against a chest. There was a deep breath—one of those slow, settling ones—and neither of them said anything.
Norman broke the silence, "Were your parents arguing again?"
Ray hummed, "Yeah.."
"I see." Norman pulled him closer, as Ray rested his head on Norman's shoulder; Ray could feel Norman's icy cold temperature as he cuddled Norman. A silent teardrop fell on Ray's cheek and onto the bed; "It's fine, I'm here. Just sleep tight, alright?" Norman spoke, his voice was like a soft whisper, a gentle lullaby.
Ray didn’t even notice the second tear until it slid past their nose and onto their lip—salty, warm, out of place. His face didn’t twist or crumple. It just… stayed still. Eyes unfocused. The tears came quietly, like he were being careful not to disturb Norman. No sound, no drama—just a slow, steady leak from somewhere too deep to name. Ray rubbed at his cheek with the back of his hand, not to stop it, just out of habit. Like wiping sweat, or rain.
It pained Norman to see Ray in such an vulnerable state; almost like when they were children when Ray had sprained his ankle. Although this time, it was more quiet, softer and gentler. Norman cradled Ray in his arms, not wanting to let the boy go.
They stayed like that till Norman felt Ray's body go weightless, as if all the boulders of burden disappeared from his shoulders, Norman did not let Ray go; he held him closer instead as the only sounds could be heard are the thunder, rain violently thrashing onto Ray's window and the soft sounds of Ray's breathing. Norman didn't know why Ray cried, although whatever was weighing him down. He hoped that he had somehow managed to ease Ray's pain even if it were just a little; after all. Ray was everything to Norman. Norman had been there for him when Leslie disappeared and had supposedly gone abroad and when Ray had attempted to overdose, kill himself. He was there for him in the hospital; He was there when Ray's parents were arguing with Ray sending him an *"You up?"* text in the middle of the night, Norman always responded; He was scared that one day, Ray would end himself and sucesss thinking that Norman had abandoned him but that was not the case. Norman was and always will be there for Ray; because Norman *loves* Ray from the bottom of his heart, as tiredness soon overcame him and his eyes slowly dropped; he spoke.
"Goodnight Ray." Norman yawned, before heading to dreamland.