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Emma couldn't look away; his face was so soft, looking at the other children laughing and enjoying themselves. It was a sight to see him relaxed with fondness in his eyes; a soft smile on his lips.
She thought Ray looked good like this.
He must've felt her staring because he side-eyed her; a questionable tilt to his eyebrow. Her eyes widened at being caught staring. Panicked she quickly averted her eyes away and to the front.
She heard him huff next to her; she couldn't tell if he was amused or frustrated. He sighed looking conflicted.
"What's the matter, eh? You've been staring at me for a while now." He spoke, trying to figure out if something was wrong with him or if it was just Emma being Emma again.
She stuttered trying to get over the embarrassment of being called out on her staring. Normally if he noticed her looking at him longer than usual he would just raise his eyebrows and turn away, maybe even roll his eyes occasionally. He had never called her out before, turns out being called out is ten times more embarrassing than being caught.
Emma flushed, " Ah! it's just... you look happy, I guess! It's nice to see you like this." Her fingers pulled at each other; for some reason, she was nervous under his gaze. She never had a problem with him looking at her. For some reason though, right now felt different. Even standing next to him was making her stomach flip, like thousands of butterflies were flapping around inside of her.
She felt the need to run, hide away from him.
She never felt like that around Ray, he always made her feel comfortable, safe, with his presence, still does even but it's different.
Emma hated this feeling. She wanted to feel normal around him again.
Ray huffed again, but this time she could tell it was laced with fondness. He place his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. A rare genuine smile directed at her.
Those butterflies started up again making her feel like she was going to throw up. Her chest tight making it hard to breathe; her cheeks glowing hot, she turned away.
" Thanks, Emma." He replied after a minute, his hand slipping off her head. A slight flush to his face. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. I'm grateful for you Emma, truly."
Somehow she sensed her face get even hotter. Slightly sweating she replied, " I'm grateful for you too, Ray."
She got another one of those smiles she loves so much.
His hand slipped into hers, fingers entangled with each other.
Those butterflies came back full force. She wondered if this feeling would go away eventually, or if she would always feel this way. But she wasn't focused on the swarm in her stomach. Instead, she was focused on the warmth of his hand, and the calluses of his palm against hers, squeezing slightly.