My Muse || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

⭐ My Muse || Chapter 122

Thirteen days.

"Gillian, teach me how to do a cartwheel." The blond haired laughed, barreling around the gym. She'd almost ran into everyone at some point, but we taking careful watch of her route now. Yuugo hollered from the center of the ring, trying to grab my attention like a toddler. "y/n, y/n! Lookit!" He spread his legs apart, dropping into a perfect side split. I clapped loudly, shoving down a giggle from his pained expression. Ray hugged me from behind, nuzzling the nape of my neck. His voice muffled in my hoodie. "Hi." I laughed, pulling myself away. "We've been together since last night, dummy!" Zack whistled, winking at me. "What'd y'all do last night?" The black haired boy behind me squeezed me again, fitting his head in the nook of my shoulder. He glared at Zack, holding me protectively. "Hot, hard, sex for at least five hours." Gillian tumbled into a wall, sending shelves of gloves, gear, and water bottles flying. I turned around in Ray's arms, booping his nose harshly. "Why would you say that?" I hissed, pinching his cheeks. He grinned, his whole face warm with emotion. "I can't help myself. I just love you so much."

Twelve days.

"The night which is bleak and bears no stars at all, is the one that must be rewritten and redrawn. With your own tears, blood, sweat, and strife, will outline crimson in the dead of night." 

"What the fuck does this mean?" Nigel hissed, throwing a crayon at the wall. "That's a bad word!" Jemima shouted, jumping onto Ray's lap. "Ray, Nigel said a bad word." He laughed, patting her head. "I'll punish him later, Jemi. Now go do your coloring books. We have shit to do." Her tiny face morphed into disgust. She glared at him while crawling onto me, sitting by his side. "y/n, they're all saying bad words! Tell them to stop!" God, she's so cute. I smiled, puffing her pigtails. I spoke softly, "Ray and Nigel are mean, right?" The little girl on my lap nodded tearfully, tugging my sleeve. I would miss her. "Don't worry, go play. I'll take care of these two dummies later." Jemima grinned, running off to play with the other kids. "You would make a great mom, y/n." I sighed exasperatedly, glaring at the black haired boy beside me. "And you would make terrible father if you teach kids that language!" He smiled, swinging his arm around my shoulders. His hand gently squeezed my shoulder, a warm kiss placed on my cheek. "I love you too." Pepe sighed, watching the two of us flirt. "Keep it in the bedroom, guys." I blushed, pushing Ray away. His bangs shifted aside, both of his gray eyes sparkling. "Okay, okay, let's focus on the riddle..."

Ten days. 

"Ugh, we're not getting anywhere!" "What night is bleak? What night has no stars? How are we supposed to figure this out? It's so fu-" I glared at Nigel from across the room. "Friiiicking vague." Jemima, sitting contently on my lap, nodded in approval. "Ray, you're not doing her hair right," I hissed, frowning at the placement of her right pigtail. "You're the one who placed it too high." He muttered, undoing his side. I pinched his cheek, grimacing. "Is this parent practice?" Emma laughed from behind us. "Yes," Ray replied instantly. "y/n, I want twenty kids, and I'm going to name them after book characters." My heart skipped a beat, imagining having a family with Ray. It was so close, yet impossible to touch. I shoved down the sadness, along with his hands. He just couldn't do Jemima's hair right. "Let me do this, watch carefully." The little girl giggled underneath my hands. 

A bleak, starless night. Redrawing and rewriting it. With my own blood, sweat, and tears. We have to make something red? God, this really was boggling. 

"Maybe- Maybe it doesn't literally mean the night sky," Zack chimed in, scratching his chin. I nodded my head, thinking about it. "Yeah, it's the only thing that makes sense. But then how do interpret it? What could it be? A bleak, starless night." Gillian was sitting on the floor, helping Alicia and Yvette with their coloring page. She had a black crayon in her hand, doodling away at the black sky. "Gillian, aren't skies blue?" Nigel laughed, nudging her back with his foot. She shook her head no, a little too immersed in the children's activity. "It's a night sky." 

A night... A night sky... A completely black screen... Starless, because it was drawn, bleak because it was written. A night which is bleak and bears no stars at all. 

"A coloring page!" We all shouted at once. Gillian jerked upwards, surprised. "Y'all are assholes," She hissed, the black crayon sending a straight break in the middle of the page.