Norman x Reader || SAUDADE

The life after: Of High School and Drama (2)

The next day came all the more sooner than expected. It could be due to the lack of sleep I've had that night, nor the constant fear that plagued my mind about waking up the next day and losing Norman after my sudden outburst last night. I didn't mean to sound as if I was scolding his actions. On the contrary, I'm scared of him finally getting fed up with fighting alone, of always being responsible for things, that at one point he's going to let everything go in exhaustion. I really really do love him. Throughout the day, I was constantly being out of it, dropping cutleries, forgetting the laundry, zoning off amidst conversations. 

"________, are you alright? I've heard from Emma that you weren't feeling well yesterday." Oliver appeared in the dining room while sipping on the warm contents of his mug before sitting down across from me. 

"Oh yeah, I felt a lot better last night." I smiled to reassure him to which he nodded in understanding. 

"Say Oliver, what would you do if you're starting to feel useless in a relationship with your significant other?" I asked the older male for possible advice. 

He raised an eyebrow at my inquiries. 

"I'd tell them." He answered as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. 

"What if it ends up hurting the other party?" I insisted once more. 

"I would definitely apologize, but at least I am being honest about it. Anything bottled up is never a good thing to begin with." He smiled. 

"Why? Did you hurt Norman after telling him something regarding your feelings?" He continued a little mischievously. 

I felt a little flustered at his statement, but nodded nonetheless. 

"I'm sure he'd understand though, he loves you too much to actually get hurt by your honesty. I'm sure you felt the same way as well." He took another sip from the mug on the table. 

I sighed feeling very weighed down. It's almost noon and dinner was almost ready. Speaking of which, I haven't seen Norman at all today. I was starting to grow concerned about him being cooped up inside his room the whole day that I finally decided to pay him a visit while taking deep breaths. I readied myself to apologize for last night. After a few knocks, there was no answer. I was positive that he'd be in his room the whole time, because I couldn't see him anywhere else. Gradually feeling worried, what if he had fainted inside? I tried twisting the knob on the door, which was surprisingly unlocked and... empty. I furrowed my brows at the unusual absence of the said boy. He wasn't even there at breakfast this morning. I spotted a familiar dark haired male with bright orange haired female in the dining area preparing utensils and silverware. 

"Ray, Emma, have you seen Norman?" I asked the two. 

"I last saw him going out this morning." Ray muttered. 

"He's not back yet?" Emma piped in. 

"No, I'm afraid not." I furrowed my brows at Ray's statement. 

"Do you know where?" I tried to push an unsettling feeling on the back of my head. 

"Not that I know of. Among the three of us, you'd be the one with the highest chance of knowing where lover boy is." Ray shrugged. 

"We had a little misunderstanding yesterday." I sighed. 

I glanced at my smartphone buried deep inside my pocket. There's a new message on the phone. My thumb quickly unlocked the device before scrolling through the screen for a certain name. There it was, a bright red sign next to his name, signifying that he had sent me a message around 12 hours ago, at 7 a.m in the morning. "In case you did not read the note I left in your room, I'm leaving a message here as well. I'm heading to the park across our school. I'm sorry to have hurt you, I'd make it up to you. So, please forgive me, love. Let's go on a date today, it's been a long while since we've spent time together. I'll be waiting." I felt all the colours drain from my face at the time stamp it showed. This boy couldn't have waited the whole day right? Knowing better, I immediately raced out of the room, snatching away the coat from the hanger on the way and fastened on my shoes whilst running out of the house. Norman you fool!