It was a lovely spring day outside, and Ray was walking through the city with his friends; Norman, Gilda, and now Emma. However, it seemed that the orangette was paying more attention to Norman than to Ray, which admittedly made the black-haired teen ache inside. To put it simply, Ray had most definitely fallen hard for Emma, though it seemed like she would never feel the same way.
Ray attempted to distract himself from his feelings by staring at the cherry blossoms twirling in the gentle spring breeze, though it didn't really help that much. There must have been over a million tiny pink petals, he noted, that were dancing along to a silent song that was carried on the wind.
Ray noticeably winced as a memory of his troubled past flashed through his mind.
~Flashback Start~
Ray was around five years old, and walking along the streets with his mother, Isabella. It was a beautiful spring day, and the young boy looked in awe at the seemingly dancing cherry blossom petals twirling on a gentle breeze. He smiled widely, looking up at his mother.
"Look! Look! Those petals are dancing!" He cheered, laughter filling the air.
However, Isabella looked on in disapproval.
"All those worthless petals are is pretty, and nothing more!" She narrowed her eyes at Ray, causing his gaze to drop to the sidewalk in shame.
"Sorry, Mama." He apologized quickly, not wanting to upset her.
Isabella hmphed, sighing softly. "You really oughta put more focus into your piano studies, Raymond."
Ray cringed. He hated being called Raymond, and Isabella knew it, too.
Isabella knelt down to Ray's level. "Don't waste time playing dollies with those other kids. You know that piano is the best future for you."
Ray felt tears begin to fall down his face, and Isabella quickly wiped them away.
"Let me teach you that lullaby you love on the piano when we get home, okay?"
Ray immediately perked up, smiling happily.
"Okay, Mama!"
~Flashback End~
To everyone else, it was silent, but to Ray, the wind carried a familiar tune that made his eyes water as tears pricked at his vision.
"Let me sing you a lullaby as you close your eyes...
And as you're drifting off to sleep,
How I hope that the dreams that you find are bright...
Love, can we meet again, in the bluest of skies?
Where a tomorrow waits for you and I?
So hold me tight one more time, but don't kiss me goodbye..
'Cause I know that I'll see you on the other side...
I will think of our song when the nights are too long
I'll dream of you, for that's where you belong...
Love, can we meet again, in the bluest of skies?
Only... in my dreams...
Do we meet again...."
"You okay there, Ray?"
Ray was snapped back into reality as he finally felt the tears trickling down his cheeks and instantly recognized Emma's voice speaking to him.
"Yeah! Yeah... I'm fine..." He lied, quickly wiping his tears away.
"Are you sure?"
Ray grumbled under his breath. "I'm fine, Emma. You don't need to worry about me."
Emma wrapped her arms around Ray, an action that surprised the broken teen.
"It's alright, you know..." She whispered. "If you ever need to tell me anything, I'm all ears..."
And just like that, she pulled away, leaving Ray standing there in shock as an overabundance of questions raced through his head at one time.
A chorus of laughter shocked Ray back into reality once again as his head perked up, spotting three figures walking away, laughing and talking away.
Though he couldn't help but notice as one of the figures paused in their tracks, looking back in Ray's direction....
