✨ A Little Bit of Magic || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

✨ Chapter Sixteen

"What the fuck is wrong with your face?"

I wiped away my tears, sniffling softly into my sleeve. My throat and chest was burning. I just couldn't bring myself to speak. Ray, who was looking at me with more confusion than concern, hesitantly opened the door to his dorm, shoving me inside. I stumbled onto Norman's empty bed, returning the black haired boy's glare. "Why are you here?" He hissed, shuttling the door behind him. I took a shaky breath, pulling his stupid wand out of my pocket. I tossed it into his chest carelessly, a rather startled look on his face. "O-Oh..." He muttered, almost dropping it. I shoved my face into his pillow, my muffled scream filling the room. "Hey, shut up, idiot! Do you want Zack to hear and think we're doing something weird?" My chest started to flare up, another wave of tears running down my cheeks. "Did you know?" Ray sat next to my feet, raising a confused eyebrow. I guess he didn't. "What are you talking about? What happened?" My body felt heavy, but I pulled myself up anyways. "Zack- Zack is-" "What? Zack is what?" "Into Oliver!" I cried, breaking into another sob. Ray's usually tense aura lightened, a look of pure shock etched across his face. "What?" He muttered, his lips barely moving. I roughly wiped my cheeks, my face starting to burn. In all my pain, a cold set of fingers ruffled my hair, messily patting the top of my head. "Are you okay?" Ray whispered, booping my sore nose with a knuckle. His gray eyes had softened, that rare look of genuine care settling warmly on his face. He gracefully wiped away a stray tear, his soft fingertips grazing my cheek. "I-I don't know," I replied, my lip quivering. He frowned, flicking my forehead. "Confidence, y/n. There's no in between. There's no 'I don't know'. You know how you feel. So tell me." I giggled at that, my still shaky fingers gently shoving his hand away. "What are you, my life coach?" He grinned, patting my head again. "No, just a personally involved pyro tutor."

For some reason, Ray was always the one making me feel better after a good day of shittiness. Though some of said shit was his fault, he always ended up apologizing. "I think I owe you can explanation for why I acted so..." "Assholey?" I giggled, gently nudging his shoulder. He exhaled sharply, flicking my hand. "Let's use the word unprofessional." I rolled my eyes, a small grin creeping across my face. "Okay, mr. fancybigwords." Ray took a deep breath, his left hand brushing through his lopsided bangs. He glanced at me with both silver eyes, something in my stomach making me nervous. A glint of pale moonlight peaked in from the single window in the center of the room, unbothered by the sheer lilac curtains flowing freely in the Autumn night wind. His voice was low, almost drowned out by the beating of my heart and the rustling of leaves. "You're going to be the first person I ever told this to." He leaned closer to me, his hand resting on my knee. My heart only grew louder as the space between us became close to nothing. Ah, that's what it was. Butterflies. Ray's warm breath stopped in front of my ear, the words he said next making me go into shock.

"Headmistress Isabella is my mother."

He pulled himself away, that gentle grasp on my knee retracting with his body. That silver gaze fell onto the floor, the gentle illumination of the night sky reflecting off of his steel colored eyes. "But we- we're orphans, Ray! How could she-" "She didn't want me, y/n. And she didn't think she'd end up being in charge of the place she left me either." I had so many questions. I wanted to know why, I wanted to know how he knew, I wanted to know if she knew. Headmistress Isabella has been like an aunt to me, ever since my parents died. I'd barely known anything about her, yet she seemed to know everything about me. At least I could add this to the list. "B- But Ray, why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with you lashing out at me earlier?" I was interrupted by his finger shushing my lips, our gazes meeting for a single moment. I immediately darted my eyes away, another wave of warmth settling into my chest. He sighed deeply, laying down by my feet. "I'm not trying to make any excuses, y/n. But as the headmaster's son- even if no one knows- I feel like... I feel like I'm constantly being held to a higher standard. I feel like I have to be perfect. I have to do better. I have to be the prodigy child that would take over the school after my mother resigns. I am the son of today's greatest witch, after all." He chuckled sadly, covering his face with an arm. "I was so frustrated with you because I was jealous that you were different. You excel in the courses you don't have an affinity for, you're flunking the course you should be soaring in. You don't cry, nor do you cower. You're the bravest person I've met, actually. And I took out my inability to practice hydro on you, who didn't deserve it at all. I think you're strong for even gaining the courage to study this after your parents accident. I think you're extremely kind for letting me back into your life. And I think you're brave for even interacting with your crush as much as you are. Zack is a tough boy to chase." I giggled, gently nudging his stomach with my foot. "For more reasons than one." Ray shoved my foot away, sticking out his tongue at me. Pfft, what an idiot. "So do you know which way he swings? You might still have a chance, y/n." I sighed deeply, glancing at the white crescent moon sitting pretty in the sky. "From the way he spoke about it, I genuinely think he's just Oliversexual. He sounded like he'd been in love with him his entire life." "Well maybe that ends now," Ray smiled, pinching my toe. "What the fuck was that for?" I hissed, shoving my foot into his face. Ray fake barfed, pulling himself up. Every day I was meeting new sides of Ray. Today I met his jealousy, regret, and apologeticness. And I was looking forward to meeting them all. "I told you before. You look better angry than sad. Now let's get you your boyfriend."

Ray decided to walk me back to my dorm, the two of us chatting about what we'd missed the past five years. It felt good having my friend back. "So, Cyclops," I giggled, nudging his shoulder. He gave me an 'ugh, what?' face, questioning where I'd adopted this new nickname from. "I stole it from Gillian," I whispered, continuing my question. "Have you liked anyone romantically? Scored yourself a girlfriend at all?" He shook his head no, glancing at me with his right eye. The left was buried underneath his weird lopsided bangs. Ugh, that's why people called you Cyclops, stupid! "I don't really care about romance. But I did like a girl, once." "Ooh, when? What's her name?" I snickered, shoving him playfully. He returned the tiny push, making me laugh. "A long time ago. I'd always had a particular fondness for this one girl, but after an accident in sixth grade, we just drifted apart. It was mostly my fault, but I never did anything to stop it or remedy our situation. We never spoke again." I never thought Ray could have such a sad love story. Imagining this mean, cold, idiot having a crush on someone boggled my mind. "What's her name? Do I know her? Maybe I can help you!" Ray chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Mph, yes, coming from the person who only has two friends." I pouted, kicking his leg gently. "Three, including you, stupid Cyclops."

Maybe I was imagining it. I had to have been. But Ray's pale cheeks in the white moonlight were tinted the lightest shade of pink. "Good night, y/n." He said, dropping me off at the entrance to the girl's dormitory. I took in his figure for the last time today. His stupid black bangs, covering his left eye, that messy spiky bedhead and that plain poker face that had morphed into sadness, happiness, frustration and regret. "Thank you for today, Ray. You're only 99% asshole in my books now." He smiled one last time, walking back to his own room. "Anything for my precious student."

A student, huh? That's how this all started. Me being Ray's student. I unpacked the load of thoughts in my head, the stone staircase clacking with every step I took. "Hey guys," I muttered, stepping into my room. Norman was busy braiding Emma's hair while she recited the first level hydro spells out loud. They were way too focused on their completely opposite tasks, a small giggle rising up in my chest. When Ray was talking about the girl he liked, his eyes were shining. Something about him seemed different, the usual annoying know-it-all look had melted into one of a boy with a crush. Even for a cyclops like Ray, that rule applied. People in love are always the most beautiful.