2644 words 

A/N: I've decided that your birthday in this book will be August 28th, as it'll be very important for this story ;) ;)

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-ˋˏ "  The greatest gift I've ever received. " ˎˊ-

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𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧

"Yakiniku?" 

"Yeah, there's this great yakiniku restaurant near the bookstore. Would you like to go?" Ray kicked tiny pebbles as he walked down the sidewalk.

"Sure, but what exactly is yakiniku?"

"It's grilled meat, basically a barbeque."

"Ah, I see." Y/n looked forward as the cars passed and the wind blew through her h/l hair. "Have you ever been there before?"

"Yeah, once when I was little. My mom took me after I had a rough day at school."

"That sounds nice." She lifted her eyes to him and smiled warmly.

"Yeah, it was. My mom is pretty cool, she's embarrassing though." He looked down, watching his shoes hit the ground.

"Really? I didn't think so. She was sweet, I can tell that she and your dad love you very much."

He looked at the girl and smiled. "You really see the good in people, don't you?"

"Oh, well, yeah. I guess I do." The girl blinked at the boy then looked forwards at the path in front of them.

"Here we are." He grabbed her wrist gently as if he hadn't she would've continued down the sidewalk.

Y/n looked at him confused as to why he would've grabbed her, then got dragged inside and was happily gazing at the storefront display case where an assortment of different meals and desserts had been carefully arranged. She leaned against the glass, staring in at them practically drooling.

"Get over here you idiot, you'll leave fingerprints on the glass. Those poor workers will have to clean up after you." He sighed stifling back a chuckle.

"Oh right!" She said in a panic and quickly attempted to wipe her fingerprints off of the once spotless glass. Ray took her by both of her arms and pulled her away from the order counter. The old woman behind the counter watched them, seemingly finding them cute. The green-eyed boy pushed her into a booth, sitting across from her.

Practically right away the waitress came over and slipped them both a menu. She proceeded to tell them her name and then the special of the day, which was the 'Boneless short rib.' She then left them to ponder what they should eat.

"What are you getting?" Ray peeked over his menu at the girl.

"I don't know, everything sounds so good." Y/n chewed the corner of her lip and stared intensely at the faded-white menu.

"It does." Ray rested his chin on the palm of his hand, reading the menu over and over hoping that eventually, something would stick out. "Hm, I can't decide."

"Me either. I think I'll just get the special." She placed down the menu and folded her arms on the black polished table.

"That's a good idea, I'll get the same." He flipped the menu over, carefully examining the beverage choices. "What about to drink?" He lifted his eyes to the girl once more.

"A Shirley Temple, duh." She rolled her eyes playfully and waved her hand in the air to add that 'dramatic effect.'

"A Shirley Temple? What are you, 6?" The dark-haired teenager scoffed.

"Shirley Temples are always my go-to beverage. They go good with everything!" She blew a strand of hair out of her face, huffing.

"I wouldn't say they go with everything. Personally, I find they're too sweet."

"But that's what makes them so addicting, their sweetness."

Before Ray could respond the waitress came over to take their orders. They both ordered the special like they had previously said, along with Y/n's Shirley temple. Ray just ordered a water, which the girl teased him about it for apparently being too "boring." He laughed at that, he always has laughed at her jokes, even when they were unfunny. 

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"Woah, this food is even better than I imagined!" The girl smiled brightly, stuffing her mouth with a chunk of meat. 

Ray nodded and chuckled before taking a sip from his iced water. "I used to beg mom to take me back here, but we never got around to it."

"Well, we're here together now and that's all that matters!"

A 'tch' sound escaped his pale lips as if he laughed a tiny bit. "Any new books you've been wanting to read?"

"No, not anything in particular at least." The h/c-haired girl chewed on the corner of her lip. "I sort of just pick up random books until I find something that seems interesting and that doesn't seem like it'll be a waste of time."

"Seriously? I figured you'd just buy whatever's trending." He mumbled poking his food with a fork.

"And why's that?" She tilted her head,  lifting her eyes to him.

"You just seem like that type of person." He replied.

"Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?" She questioned, slightly offended.

"Mmm, both." A smirk appeared on his perfectly shaped lips.

"That's not really an answer." She folded her arms and huffed.

"It's not?" He snickered.

"It's not."

"Sorry, it's a bad thing then."

The girl groaned. "You piss me off, you know that? You can be so annoying."

"That's why this friendship works, because we're equal. We both piss each other off."

"That's true." Y/n sighed pushing her plate more into the center of the table signifying that she had finished her meal. Not that doing that would suddenly sound off a loud bell to the waiters so that they'd know she had finished eating, but to her, it made all the difference. Nobody ever noticed that she'd done this and if they did they'd ask her what she was doing. But Ray easily noticed her pushing away her dirty plate and what it meant.

Both of their plates had been almost completely emptied if it wasn't for y/n's last chunk of meat left. The waitress soon returned and took away their plates, leaving them with the bill.

"I'll pay." Y/n quickly grabbed the bill before Ray could even look at it.

"What? No, I invited you." The dark-haired boy replied snatching it from the girl.

"It's your birthday so I should pay. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life for making my friend pay for our meal on his 18th birthday." He grabbed it back from him.

"Hey, I'm the adult here." He smirked and attempted to snatch the bill back from the girl, but she hid it behind her head out of his reach.

"I'm paying this time, and that's final." She said with a smug expression, finally being able to beat Ray at something.

He groaned and sunk back into the booth, knowing that he couldn't beat her this time. "Fine."

The waiter then returned to the table and y/n paid the not-so-cheap bill. The two left the restaurant and walked down the road to the small, homey bookstore. y/n had only been there twice, but she loved it. It felt like home to her. Everything about it made her feel safe. The colorful visuals of different books sorted by genre, the polished wooden bookshelves, and the scent of fresh paper. Surprisingly, the e/c-eyed girl rarely found things truly comforting to her. In her head, she had made a list of 7 things that made her feel safe and at home.

7. Apple juice boxes
6. Norman
5. The smell of books
4. Being underneath her bed covers
3. Emma
2. Her mother and Alex
1. Ray

Of course, Ray had just recently ranked up on the list. He used to be at number 7, but after the events of December, she realized that he was the thing/person that made her feel completely safe and happy.

"What's that you've got there?" y/n crept up behind the boy and peeked around his shoulder at the book he was holding. It had a dark-green cover which reminded y/n of the boy's eyes. That was another thing she adored about him, his eyes. To her, they were like a pair of beautiful dark-green crystals in a fragile body.

"It's a book full of different poems and quotes." He mumbled, flipping through the tinted beige pages.

"Do you like poetry?" She stared at him.

"Yes, actually. I enjoy writing and reading poetry." 

"For my next birthday, you should write me a poem or something." She smiled.

"I guess I could give that to you, along with something else."

"No. I just want a poem, I'll frame it and everything. I want when I'm all old and wrinkled and my grandchildren come to visit me for them to point cheerfully at the paper framed on the wall and ask, "What's that grandma?" To which I'll reply, "The greatest gift I've ever received."

"Well, isn't that deep." Ray chuckled.

The girl nodded and pulled a book off the shelf in front of her. "Mhm, exactly. It doesn't have to be a meaningful poem either, it could be something stupid. Like, 'You're very stupid and very ugly, but your heart is warm and it makes me feel bubbly.' Either way, I'd frame it."

"That poem was surprisingly not half-bad." The crystal-eyed boy laughed.

"You think so? Maybe I should publish one of those poetry books." She folded her arms proudly.

"In that case, your poem sucked." He teased,

She dropped her arms to her side. "Yeah, I know." The girl giggled.

Ray checked his watch. "We should get going now. Are you getting any books?" He questioned.

"No, not today. How about you?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Now let's go before Emma and Norman race us there."

y/n nodded and followed him out the door, quickly making their way to the crowded train station. They bought their tickets as usual and hopped onto the train. They talked about normal things, not really anything interesting or new. Just about what y/n did at school and how their two friends were acting like a couple more and more each week. The train ride flew by as they'd been having a light conversation the whole time. When the train came to a holt they sprang out of their seats and made their way to the boy's large house as the sun began to set.

"Mom, I'm back and I've brought y/n!" Ray called out closing the large door behind his friend.

"y/n!" The ravenette woman quickly strutted into the entrance room, heels clicking against the shining freshly-washed tiles. "I'm so glad you're here!" She smiled and pulled the girl into a hug.

y/n was a bit surprised at this interaction as she had not expected for Isabella to hug her. "Oh yeah, me too!" She smiled as the woman gently pulled away from the hug.

"Mom, I really don't think y/n wants a hug from you every time she comes over."

"What are you talking about? She loves it!" She glared at her son holding the girl's shoulders in a protective manner.

"Yeah, I love your mom she's so fun!" The e/c-eyed girl giggled and stared at the boy.

"Oh, Ray! Your cousin Jemima is here, you should go introduce her to y/n!" Isabella gestured to the kitchen.

"Really? I haven't seen her in ages! Come on y/n!" He grabbed the girl's hands excitedly and pulled her into the kitchen.

Sitting on the kitchen island was a brunette 12-year-old girl with dark brown eyes. She was swinging her legs back and forth, giggling at something her older cousin had said. The older cousin was tall and also had brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to be around the same age as y/n and Ray.

"Jemima!" Ray smiled and quickly walked over to the young girl.

She gasped. "Ray!" Jemima lept into his arms as he swung her around. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Jem." He chuckled as he placed her back down to her feet. The dark-haired boy looked like a giant compared to her as he was at least 6 foot 1.

"Woah! You've gotten so tall!" She said in awe staring up at him.

"Have I?" He raised an eyebrow.

The girl giggled before looking behind him at the h/c-haired girl. "Oooh, who's she? She's so pretty! Is this your girlfriend?" She winked at Ray.

A red hue grew on his cheeks. "No! She's just a friend, this is y/n." 

y/n stifled back a laugh noticing his blushing. "Hi there, Jemima." She waved with a warm smile plastered on her face.

"Hi!" The girl rushed over to her. "If you aren't dating Ray, which you totally should, then you should date Don!" She smiled and pointed at Ray's other cousin. "He'll be 17 in July."

"Jemima, I have a girlfriend." Don sighed and shook his head, chuckling.

"WHAT?" The young girl whirled her head around and stomped over to the tall boy. "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?"

"Sorry! We just made it official!" The brunette said in a panic and surrendered his hands, gulping.

"WHAT'S HER NAME?" She jumped up and down with excitement.

"Gilda. You met her last year on my birthday, remember?"

"I love Gilda!" The radiant girl squealed.

Ray chuckled and walked backward so that he'd be beside y/n. "Don and I are her only cousins, and she doesn't have any older sisters so she really wants us to get girlfriends." 

"Ahh, I see." The girl giggled and watched as the young girl pestered the 16-year-old with ridiculous questions about the girl.

"Ray, y/n!" The ginger girl raced into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around the two, hugging them.

"Hey, Emma." Ray smiled and patted her arm.

"Happy birthday Ray! You're an adult now, that's so cool!" She grinned.

y/n raised an eyebrow and noticed the flushed look that's been on Emma's face since she entered the house. "You're awfully flushed, are you getting a cold?" She placed her hand on the ginger's forehead, checking to see if she had a fever. Emma's face grew even redder at this action, knowing that her friend had noticed. 

"No, just ran too fast I guess." She shrugged and giggled nervously.

"Sorry we're a bit late, my mom had to talk with me about something." Norman entered the kitchen with a smile, waving at the three. y/n noticed that he also had a flushed look on his face, then looked at Ray. Ray was looking at the girl too, and they realized what must've happened. It was like they were having a conversation with their eyes. Ray raised his eyebrows and smirked, which y/n quickly followed. 

'They so were kissing.'

'Oh my god, are they dating?'

'Is it just me or are Emma's legs shaking a bit?'

"Okayyy! Who wants pizza?" Isabella clasped her hands together.

"I do! I do!" Jemima jumped up and down and dashed towards the white pizza box.

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"Isabella you're an actual saint for getting ice cream cake." y/n smiled and stuffed her mouth with a forkful of the cake.

"Why thank you y/n." Isabella nodded and smiled. "Ray, why don't you open gifts now?"

"Oh, sure." The boy placed his paper plate on the ground, sitting criss-cross.

The woman proceeded to hand the boy different cards and presents, to which he appreciated every single one. Jemima made him a handmade card filled with glitter. Isabella must've loved that one, because glitter-covered her freshly swept hardwood floors. Finally, it was y/n's gift. As Ray began to tear the wrapping paper, Y/n gulped waiting patiently for his reaction.

"Oh my- Oh my god, I've been trying to get ahold of this book for months." He instantly grinned brightly and looked up at y/n, as she had been the only one he told. "Thank you, y/n."

She nodded and smiled. "You're welcome, Ray."

Norman looked at the two back and forth, winking with a smug expression. "You two should just date already."

They both rolled their eyes and looked at Norman and Emma, speaking in sync. "So, what was the real reason why the two of you were late?"

The ginger and albino instantly went wide-eyed, that flushed expression returning to their faces.

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