"Goodbye! Thank you for your username!" Akira calls out, waving her arm with all of her power.
Norman smiles and waves at the pink-haired girl before starting toward where he'd memorized the directions to his house was. Could he have gotten someone to drive him? He could have, but he didn't really like being where he lived much. It was loud since Jessica and her kids were almost always over. It was good for him to walk, and he might see a dog, anyway.
He took out his phone to listen to music, then realized that he was in public, so it'd be loud. He was carrying a bag, though. Maybe there were headphones in the bag.
-
"Hey!" Jade greeted as she opened the door. Despite her enthusiasm and her warm smile, she seemed unusually tired. Her hair was messy like it normally was, there was a tint of exhaust in her gaze, and she had bandages all over her arms from being a klutz while using knives.
"Why do you look so tired?" Norman asked without even realizing he did.
Jade tilted her head to one side.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine. I've just been... looking for something." She smiles, mostly a fake smile as usual.
"What were you looking for?"
"Nothing, just the leftovers from dinner."
"Jade, we didn't even eat dinner yesterday!" Ace's voice travels from the living room.
"Shut up!"
He suppresses a sigh. This is going to take a while.
-
"Didn't I tell you not to call me?" Ray asks.
"Why did you answer, then?" Norman replies.
"Because I'm also bored!"
"Of course, you are," he mutters. "How's Emma?"
"She has a phone. You have her number. She's alive, so are you. You call her. She's been fine. Just really bored," he goes on. "But when I ask her if she wants to play Animal Crossing, she just says no."
"Surprised you're obsessed with that game."
"Shut up and let me play in peace."
"Then let me tell at least someone that you like Anna."
"I don't," Ray says before hanging up.
After Ray hung up, Norman just stared at his phone for what felt like for a while. The weird thing is, he didn't even know what his expression was or what he even looked like. His light hair was probably messy as usual, and his dark blue eyes looked tired. That's what he felt like, messy and tired. Or at least tired. Tired of what? Probably over-analyzing everything, the problem with Heather, his relationship, school being horrible—He was glad that it was almost over, at least. The last part, seeing Jade and Ace's crumbling relationship. They used to be closer, but now if they were seen in public together, the only love people who saw them would think they had was platonic. Not like it mattered that much to him. He was more focused on his own relationship, if he had one at all.
Since he moved, he didn't even know if him and Emma were just a long-distance couple or if they were even together. He preferred to be with her, but they probably wouldn't work out as long-distance.
Once he snapped back into reality, his phone was already in sleep mode, which was expected. It was 12:28 a.m. Damn, I really stared at my phone for a while, He thought.
He denied it until now, but he wasn't happy here. He missed Emma. He probably missed her voice or her smile the most. She knew how to make him feel happy, flustered, or even angry. She also knew how to make him sad. Easy, by being sad. It only worked if you were her, though.
He never realized how cold his room was until now. But would that matter when he's asleep? Probably not. Why bother turning off the fan?
-
Norman awakes at the sound of a hushed voice—Likely Jade's.
Another voice sounds, which sounded like Ace's, but less tired.
Not like this was unusual, but it was annoying and distracting. They had lots of conversations. He would be playing a video game with one of his friends, then would just hear the quiet voices of his sister and her boyfriend. Good luck going back to sleep, he thought, taking his phone from where he'd left it charging on the floor.
The light from the screen practically blinded him, and he could almost feel it heating up. Of course, it wasn't hot yet, but it would be. His phone was quick to get tired of working. He wasn't even sure what he wanted to do on it. Just watch YouTube, probably. It was an easy decision to make. Not like any of his friends would be online on Discord—At this time, 1:00 a.m., the only person he knew could be awake was Ace, who worked at night, but it's not like his boss would let him use Discord at work. Besides, he wasn't even working tonight.
He could also mindlessly listen to music on Spotify, which Jade was so kind as to pay a bit of extra money to give him premium. He didn't want to watch anything, so the listening to music option was obvious.
Oh, and not mentioned earlier, they were living with Halley, and she had a cat. The cat's name was Millie.
Millie approached where he was sitting on the floor and sat down. Norman reached out his hand to stroke the cat's head. Millie was friendly, unlike a most other cats he knew. The song playing was really good, and it made him remember the time he requested that band to Emma. This one was the song he played for her. The song, called I Still Love You, was probably his favorite by Night Traveler. He looks to the floor. I wonder if Millie knows that I'm sad, he wondered as the cat moved closer to him. About Emma, he realized, I could prove to her that not all cats are mean using Millie. He had a flashback to one of their conversations.
"I like cats, but they're mean. Cute, but mean."
He could almost hear her soft voice ringing through his head. He loved her, he realized.
I want to see her again.
-
"Augh, I think he's grown some kind of obsession with Akira or something," Billie says. "He's stalking her social media, making alternate accounts if she blocks him, and all of that. I heard that he somehow lives closer to where Emma lives, so, if you go back and end up meeting this guy, uh... Kade, I think... Could you give him a little beating for me?" She hands the rest of the chips she was eating to Akira. "Too sweet."
"Uh-"
"Shush. He has messy blonde hair, cold blue eyes, and he looks as if he could easily kill someone, but I've met him, and he's scared of everything. Well, almost everything," she goes on, cutting Norman off. "I think a slap in the face will work."
"Wait, I think I've run into him before."
"Really? Is he a flirt?"
"Yeah, he tried more than once to do... things... I forgot it mostly, but my sister did things about it. I think he's scared of any girl with brown hair now," he replies.
Billie smiles, which was pretty rare. "Well, I guess your sister already did what I asked of you."
"Hey, uh..." A voice mutters.
"What are you doing now? Why aren't you choking yourself with headphones as usual?" Billie teases.
"Shut up, Billie! You were fake as heck anyway!" Heather shouted.
"Me!?" Billie sounded as if she'd just heard that her favorite book series was discontinued.
"Yeah! What's with only wanting to play video games with Akira!?" She said 'Akira' with emphasis, as if her name were a tease.
"You always tried to exclude me!" Billie stood up. "When Akira asked to play, I don't know, Animal Crossing, I'd ask to invite you!"
"All eyes really on her," Akira jokes. It was true, though. Everyone in the school cafeteria was staring at the two quarreling girls.
Akira stands up. "Billie, calm down..." She whispers, grabbing Billie's arm.
Billie snatches it away, which Norman guessed was unusual since Akira reacted with fear and her gaze clouded with confusion.
"Listen, stop lying!" Billie shouted.
"You're overreacting! I did nothing!" Heather shouted back.
She has a short temper, of course she's reacting like that.
Billie reached out an arm and hit the black-haired girl with all of her strength, sending her to the floor.
Akira grabbed Billie's free arm, tighter this time. "Stop!" She yells tearfully.
"Heather, I—" Norman stops. I don't want to be mean to her in any way. What would Emma do?
He extends his arm out in an attempt to help the girl up. Surely, she'd do this.
Heather's eyes widen, then rage clouds her gaze. She stands up, without his help. "You weren't even going to help me up! You were just going to trick me!"
That wasn't true, and Heather obviously knew. At least Billie did.
"Why did you try to help her up!?" Billie demands.
"I..." His voice trails off. "Because Emma would do that." He smiles, leaving Billie confused. "And I bet Akira would, too."
Akira stared at the ground. "I... I would. It's the right thing to do."
"But—" Billie stops. "Emma would do that?"
"She would..." Norman replies.
"She's really kind. I'll try being more like her, then."
"Yeah, you should. He said that her hands are soft and warm, unlike your rough, cold ones," Akira teases.
"Oh, shut up!"
-
"Hello!" Jade greets. A scream sounded from the living room, and Jade looked as if she was exhausted. "I can't leave Rosie alone for two minutes!" She groans. "I hate children!"
"I could look over her," Norman offers. "They seem to love me for no reason."
"No, I'm fine."
"Get some sleep—or at least sit down and play Stardew Valley or something," he tells her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"No, you hypocrite. I'm fine."
"You said you hated children." He crosses his arms.
"So? Jessica asked me to look after Rosie! I can't deny Jessica... She scares me."
"We should at least look at why Rose screamed and is crying right now."
"Uh... Good idea," Jade mutters.
They walked toward the living room, where Rose sat crying, the small glass table beside the couch shattered. Jade put her hands on her head and groaned.
"You clean it up, I'll try to make sure Rosie isn't hurt at all," she muttered.
"Fine."
-
While he was cleaning the glass, Jade showed up.
"I locked her in my room and turned on my switch. She's watching anime now," she mutters.
"Which one?"
"Chill! Pokémon is kid-friendly, and Jessica lets her watch it!"
"Well, I'm glad it wasn't like Demon Slayer or anything violent." He breathes a sigh of relief. "She's three fricking years old."
"I don't see the problem with letting her watch Demon Slayer."
"Are you sure she wasn't watching that instead?"
"Actually, I'm not." Jade stands up. "I don't want to get killed. Goodbye." She runs off.
A few minutes later, she comes back. "No, she was watching Pokémon. Not Demon Slayer. Oh, you're done."
She just stood there.
"You need anything?" Norman looks up from his phone.
"Your attention please," she replies.
"Okay, I'm listening." He pauses the song and takes his headphones off.
"Uh... So, we moved here before I turned eighteen, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm almost nineteen, so after you get out of school, I want to—"
"Yes, I do!" He exclaims, shouting like a child. "I will move back!"
"You miss Emma so much as to give up cold summers, huh?" Jade concludes. "And I'm getting pale here. I guess it's better to be in the heat sometimes. Not that I care about what I look like, I'd just rather be tan."
"I—"
"Don't tell Emma yet. I want it to be a surprise!"
"Alright, I won't."
-
For the next month, everything seemed slowed, and sleep seemed like a rare video game item with a one-percent drop rate, until Jade told him that they were leaving.
"Are you ready? You have all of the things you own? I'm not coming back. Check again."
"I have everything, Jade. My switch, my phone, and my laptop are the only things I even need."
"Ugh, let's go!" Jade tells him impatiently.
"You're the one who cared so much about forcing me to check that I had everything I own!"
-
Emma's headphones were pulled off. Was it Ray? Probably.
"Give it back, Ray," she mutters.
When there was no reply, she looked up from her phone. Ray was nowhere. Her headphones were Bluetooth, so they didn't have a cord. Worst time not to have a cord.
"Oh, good song. I like your playlist."
Emma stood up and looked around.
"Yeah, I love this song. This is the first one I played for you by Night Traveler."
To annoy him, she skipped the song. His voice was familiar, but who was it?
"Oh, Don't Forget Me. This one's good as well. Why'd you skip I Still Love You?"
"Are you hiding from me?" Emma asks.
"Actually, I'm in an obvious spot. Would you consider that hiding?"
"Well, yeah."
"What do you think about your friend Norman?"
"Huh? How do you—" she cuts her own sentence off. "I knew it! It's you, Norman!"
"Yeah, and I'll give your headphones back if you can find me."
"Ugh, I want a hint!" Emma exclaims. "It's unfair!"
"Hint is literally up." He goes on, "I'll let it slip since my phone's microphone is bad. Otherwise, how would you have forgotten my voice?"
Emma looks up. "You idiot, Norman!"
"I am genuinely concerned for myself. I am in a tree like a fictional cat. On the topic of cats, I met a really nice and friendly cat. Her name was Millie," said the teenage boy who was sitting in a tree.
"You're not grabbing onto the branch for dear life. You're not scared."
"You're right." He jumps down and falls over, collapsing on the ground. "Ow! I'm good."
"What about my headphones?"
"Also, good." He takes them off and puts them onto Emma's head. "I'm back!" He touches his right hand to his left forearm. "And I'm somehow not bleeding."
"Give me a damn hug, if you're not bleeding," Emma tells him.
Without even another second, he wraps his arms around her. "I would hug you either way, though. I'm back for good, Emma."
A tear falls from Emma's green eyes. "You are?"
"I'm not leaving."
"I love you," Emma tells him.
"I love you too. Probably more. I couldn't shake you off in the past year."
"Why do I feel like you're referencing to the song Ocean Cabin?" Emma asks.
"Because I was listening to it earlier." He smiles.
"I love your smile," Emma mutters, mostly to herself.
"And I love your eyes."
"Eh, I could sing Ocean Eyes and it would actually make sense since your eyes are blue, and that you make me want to cry sometimes, like now. Or Blue Eyes, since you'll probably cry if I'm not in the same building as you at at least one point in time and your eyes are unironically blue."
"I could play Holding On using my phone since I have no musical talent and it would make sense because you have green eyes and I missed you for an entire year but still held onto you."
"We could both play Missing You." Emma tells him.
"Nah, we're together again. We could play, like, The Sunshine, since it's an innocent song with the general, 'I like you' theme. But I could play it for anyone that I don't hate, since the lyrics are probably more of, 'you're cool and I platonically love you,'" he replies.
"Meteor Shower is implying more of a platonic love as well."
"You think so? I don't. Why are we even talking about relating to songs?"
"Because you, Norman, referenced to the song Ocean Cabin by Night Traveler."
"I did indeed."
"And why are we arguing over which song best fits our moods currently?"
They stare at each other without speaking. There wasn't really an answer. They were just joking around like they usually did.
Making eye contact was clearly something they have to do now, and there was no doubt that both hearts had been stolen by each other as they leaned in to kiss.
-
"You know, I told everyone but you that I was coming back, since I wanted it to be a surprise for you," Norman told Emma, who just crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm glad they didn't tell you."
"It was still mean that you stole my headphones. And my first damned kiss."
"Yeah, you still haven't given my heart back."
"You're terrible at flirting."
"I am completely aware. Why don't we sit under a tree and listen to music later? Billie told me about a lot of good singers and bands."
"It's summer. Why can't we stay somewhere air-conditioned?" Emma complains.
"My phone said it would be colder tonight."
"Really? How cold?"
"Not even sixty degrees. How? I don't know. I don't think you mind that, though." (By the way, uh, farenheight, like, other people who don't use that like: OH GOSH WHY IS IT THAT HOT AHGG)
"I don't mind that. What was Jade even talking about when she said it was hot?"
"I don't know. She's sensitive to heat, so that's probably reasonable," he answers.
"Well, when?"
"Maybe around ten. That's when it gets dark enough to see the stars."
"Okay! See you later!"
2788 Words
END
Hello, the children of the minivan! I'm so glad I finished this... At only sixteen chapters... But this is (way) longer than my other completed fanfiction! I WILL make an epilogue, I swear. Ugh-
Votes and comments (especially comments) are highly appreciated! (Mainly on Wattpad bc I actually check that--)
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