"Good morning, Norman!" Emma shouted as she threw herself at her friend's back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Norman stumbled but managed to keep his balance. He laughed and when Emma got off him, turned around and ruffled her already messy hair.

"Good morning, Emma. You're late again."

"I'm sorry~" She answered and smiled.

Most of the students around them looked at them and started whispering. After a few seconds Ray joined them, lightly hitting Emma on the head with his book.

"No running in the hallways." He calmly said and started walking towards their classroom.

Emma pouted and looked at Norman as if wanting him to defend her but he only shrugged.

"You know he's right. You should listen to him."

Emma sighed and they entered the classroom quickly.

As they sat at their reserved spots next to each other with Emma in the middle, Ray opened his book to read it while the other two started talking about something. Well, mainly Emma was talking and Norman just listened and smiled. Ray didn't even need to look at them to know what they were doing. He could feel it in his bones. And honestly, he thought that was a little bit irritaning. But on the bright side, he almost always knew what the two of them were doing or were up to do.

Soon the class started and Ray sighed as he put a bookmark between the pages of his book which he then left at the corner of his desk.

After a few minutes he noticed movement with the corner of his eye. 'Emma came up with something again', he thought. And he was right. Emma was clutching her stomach with a painful expression. Ray knew it was a farce but Norman seemed genuinely concerned.

"Emma? Are you okay?" He asked and laid his hand on her back.

Emma shook her head and grunted.

"It hurts..."

The teacher noticed that and immediately instructed Norman to take Emma to the infirmary. The white-haired boy stood up and offered a hand to Emma but she refused him, saying:

"I don't think I'll be able to walk."

Norman didn't have enough strength to pick her up and Ray knew that. The white-haired boy was never athletic. The other two surpassed him in that. The boys exchanged a glance and Ray also stood up.

"I'll take care of that." He said with a calm expression.

The teacher seemed oblivious to their plan and nodded.

"Then both of you can go with her."

Ray picked up Emma so easily that it looked like he was lifting a feather. He didn't want to get in trouble but he knew his friend would be sad if the three of them couldn't have fun together. So he complied and strode over to the door as Norman quickly followed him. When they arrived at the infirmary, the dark-haired boy put Emma down on one of the beds while Norman looked around for any medicine, cursing under his breath that he couldn't find anything that could help his friend. He regretted that Anna, one of their little sisters in the orphanage, wasn't with them. She has always known a lot about medicines and how to use them. After all she had said that she wants to become a doctor when she grows up.

Ray looked towards him, then shook his head at his friend's obliviousness and returned his attention to the girl who was now smiling.

"What do you think you're doing? We're missing on important material for the upcoming test." As he said that he flicked her forehead to which Emma responded with a laugh.

"Oh come on, you know we're gonna learn it later. It's not that important." And she was kind of right. The three of them always had the highest scores amongst all of their classmates.

Norman jumped a little when he heard the girl laugh and moved to the bed at the speed of light.

"You're okay?! Oh, thank god! I thought you really had a stomachache! I was so worried-"

Ray rolled his eyes as the other boy continued to ramble about how much he was concerned. He was always like that.

"I don't know about her, but she's giving me a headache." The raven-haired boy cut him off.

The redhead immediately stood up on the bed and threw her arms around Ray, grinning.

"Don't be so moody~ C'mon, let's do something fun!"

Ray resisted at first, but soon gave up. He couldn't say no to such a stubborn cute little thing. Though he wondered how even 4 years after they were adopted and got out from that orphanage, she could still be so hyperactive and happy all the time while he and Norman were more laid-back. Sometimes he even thought of her as a child. A goofy and naive one. And Ray and Norman were her big brothers who protected her and stood by her side all the time.

Emma soon let go of Ray and her face lighted up.

"I've got an idea! You know that St. Valentine's Day is coming up next week, right?" She asked the boys, looking at them expectantly.

They were both surprised. Why did she suddenly bring that up? Does she... like someone?

They nodded slowly, anticipating her next words.

"Aaand you know what that means, right?"

They nodded again and she could swear she saw the slightest blush creeping on Norman's cheeks and the glint in Ray's eyes. But too bad for them, she had other things in mind.

"There are going to be discounts on chocolates!" She finally revealed, excited. "And that's why I want to go get some with you two!"

At that moment Norman and Ray's dreams and expectations shattered in pieces but they nodded once again before turning around and heading to the exit.

"I was hoping for something... different." Norman complained quietly.

"Expect the unexpected." Ray sighed and whispered. "Especially with this girl."

Emma looked at their backs confused and soon ran up to them.

"Wait! Why are you leaving me behind? What are you talking about?"

Norman smiled and Ray patted her on the head when she caught up with them.

"Just... boys' things."

Emma looked even more confused. "Boys' things? Things about boys?" She fell silent for a while, then, with a gasp, exclaimed "Does that mean you're gay?" She looked to Norman, then to Ray.

"Emma, no!" They responded at the same time. "Don't ever say something like that again!"

Emma blinked and then smiled brightly.

"Just so you know... If you actually liked guys, I would still be your friend!" She said happily as she wrapped a hand around each of them, pulling them close to her. She might have looked small and fragile, but damn she was strong. Norman and Ray knew that and when they stopped resisting, hugged her in return.