Chapter Text
“You should do the play, Ray!” Emma said, jumping behind Ray as he walked to class.
“For the last time,” Ray said, looking back at the ginger. “I’m not doing the dumb play I have better things to do,”
“Like what?”
“Reading fanfiction,”
“You can read fanfiction while you’re backstage,”
“And my homework?”
“You can stay up?”
“No,”
“But Violet and I will be the only two sophomores there,” Emma whined.
“No,”
“I’ll pay you,” That perked Ray up.
“How much?” He said, turning to face her.
“Twenty to audition and five if you get in,”
“What if I decide not to do the show?”
“You’ll still get the twenty,”
“Five seems like very little for three months of my time,”
“Fine, Violet and I will take you to the bookstore after every rehearsal,” Emma sulked.
“You have a deal,”
And that’s how two weeks later Ray ended up standing in line waiting for the cast list with Violet and Emma.
Emma wore an old t-shirt she had stolen from her dad and a nice pair of jeans. She said they were lucky. Ray didn’t believe in luck but he didn’t say anything to her knowing she would say something like “it’s bad luck not to believe in luck,”
Violet on the other hand wore her classic purple coat. They stood beside each other arm in arm. Emma kept fidgeting with Violet’s coat sleeve. They were so cute sometimes it made Ray want to barf.
He waited till the teacher walked out and pushed her way through the small crowd of students. Majority of them were seniors or freshmen. Ray only recognized two other sophomores; someone from Violet’s friend group and some guy with white hair Ray had only seen in the halls.
When the teacher had left back to her classroom the students jumped onto the paper. It was like piranhas with blood; a massacre.
“Ray, Ray,” Emma said, running back to him after she had taken the plunge into the crowd. “You got the male lead!”
She grinned at him. Ray tried to smile back but it seemed like a lot of work. He was already tired at the end of the day and now he would be spending every day after school with people he didn’t know.
“I still might not do it,” Ray said to Emma. She gave him a pouty look.
“What did you get Emma?” A cool voice said from behind Ray. He jumped and twisted around to see the white-haired boy again.
“I got the supporting lead,” She said as she hugged Violet.
He sent a look at Violet silently asking Who is this?
She shrugged silently replying I don’t know Emma has a lot of friends.
“Ray, I don't think you’ve met Norman yet!” Emma said oblivious to their silent conversation. She gestured to the white-haired boy. “Norman this is my best friend Ray,”
“Nice to meet you,” Norman said, holding out his hand. He was wearing a light blue sweater and a pair of light jeans. He had a pair of tan dress shoes on. Ray thought he looked stylish unlike Ray in his black hoodie and torn-up jeans.
Ray dabbed him up. Norman gave him a confused look and didn’t seem to know how to do it.
“Wh-what was that?” Norman asked Emma and Violet. Emma tried hiding her smile behind her hand whereas Violet was laughing so hard her face was turning pink.
“Ray, he wanted to shake hands with you,” Emma said. Ray felt his face burn up. This was why he hadn’t wanted to do the play. Now he was making a fool of himself in front of a cute boy.
“So what are you doing in the play,” Ray said, trying to sound nonchalant. The words came out forced. How had he even gotten the male lead if he sounded like this when he was flustered?
“I’m doing tech,” Norman said, giving him a smile. Fuck that smile was beautiful. He somehow managed to look like an angel while looking so so human. “Emma kind of forced me into it,”
“I did not, you have free will,” Emma said indignantly.
“Yeah, then you threaten us and bribe us,” Ray said, smiling, his embarrassment forgotten for the moment.
His phone buzzed and Ray looked down. “Emma we gotta go if you still want my mom driving us home,” Ray said, collecting his bag.
“Yes! Mama Isabella’s great!” Emma said, kissing Violet goodbye and grabbing her things.
“Stop calling her that, it makes me uncomfortable,” Ray said as they walked down the hallway.
“That’s why I call her that though,”
“Ray, wait,” He turned to see Norman running after them.
“Yeah?” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emma walking back to Violet. Shit now he would never get her to the car.
“I just wanted to tell you it was nice meeting you,” Norman said smiling again. Ray couldn’t help but smile back. “I look forward to working with you in the play,”
“Yeah me too,” Ray choked out. He walked back to Emma who was speaking to Violet and dragged her away to the car.
“So Ray, do you think you’ll still do the play?” His mom asked when he entered the car.
He blushed thinking back to Norman and what he had said to him before they left. He had told Norman that he was looking forward to working with him. It’d be rude to back out now. “Yeah, I guess I will,”