Chapter 16 – Not the Main Character… Yet
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Early morning. The light outside is soft and golden. The sky still holds a bit of pink.
The house is still quiet, but Save is already awake.
> "New school year. Same uniform.
Same building.
But maybe… this year will be different."
He sits on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his hair, still damp from his shower.
His school uniform is neatly laid out on the chair. White shirt. Navy pants. Nothing special — but he straightens the collar with unusual care.
On the desk nearby, a few books are stacked.
One of them — that book — sits at the bottom of the pile, a little dusty.
He doesn't reach for it.
Instead, he grabs his schoolbag and checks inside.
> Pens? Check.
Notebooks? Check.
Small bottle of water — just in case.
Still hooked to the zipper.
---
Downstairs, the voice of his mom cuts through the air:
> "Save! If you don't come down in five minutes, I'm leaving without you!"
He yells back, half-heartedly, "I'm coming!"
But he doesn't move yet.
He looks at himself in the mirror. Tilts his head. Adjusts his hair.
Then stares at his reflection for a long, quiet moment.
---
> "I wonder if he still smiles the same.
I wonder if it'll feel the same — sitting beside him.
If we'll talk more this time. If I'll be brave."
His heart gives a soft little jump at the thought.
It's almost silly, the way he wants it — just to sit beside Auau again.
He doesn't want much.
Just that small space of closeness.
Just a desk away.
---
He slips on his shoes and walks toward the door.
Then backtracks and grabs his phone.
He opens the group chat — Hunter House Hooligans.
No new messages.
For a second, he considers sending something. Something dumb. Or dramatic.
But instead, he just stares.
Eventually, he types:
Save: Wish me luck.
Then deletes it.
He shoves the phone into his bag.
No more overthinking. Just school. Just see what happens.
---
Morning. The classroom is bright with soft sunlight cutting through the windows. Students bustle in, chatting, laughing, a few still yawning. Bags drop onto desks, chairs scrape, and Save stands quietly at the entrance, scanning the room.
He's holding his bag strap tightly — his heart beats just a little faster.
---
Save's Pov.
> "Please let it be the same. Just let me sit beside him again. I can handle everything if I just… get to stay near him."
He walks in, eyes searching. There it is — the seating chart taped to the whiteboard.
A small crowd gathers in front of it, whispering names.
Patji is already there, squinting. He waves Save over.
> "Hey! Come check this out — we're neighbors!"
Save peers at the list.
His name: Save – Seat B3
Next to him: Patji – B2
Then his eyes search for Auau…
Auau – Seat A1
Right beside him: Por – A2
There's a pause in his chest. Just for a second.
> "Not beside me. He's not beside me."
He doesn't even know why it stings. He knew the seats might change. He just didn't expect the sudden… space.
The classroom, moments after the seating chart surprise.
The room is now filled with chatter and the scraping of chairs.
Save lowers himself into his new seat — beside Patji — trying not to look too disappointed.
He forces a small smile, fiddling with his pen as the teacher walks in with a stack of papers.
Across the room, Auau is laughing at something Por just whispered.
Their heads lean close. Too close.
Save's chest feels tight.
He looks down at his desk, avoiding the ache behind his ribs.
The teacher begins announcements:
> "Welcome back, everyone! This is your last year — let's make it count, alright?"
Some students cheer, others groan. Someone jokingly yells, "Do we still have P.E.?!"
> "Of course you do," the teacher deadpans.
Laughter ripples through the class, but Save doesn't join in.
He just keeps his eyes on his notebook, blank page in front of him.
One corner already damp from where his water bottle leaked a little.
Then —
A soft nudge on his arm.
He turns. Patji doesn't say anything — just slides a folded scrap of paper onto Save's desk.
Save hesitates. Unfolds it under the table.
Inside: just a few words, scribbled in Patji's lazy handwriting.
> "He looked at you first."
Save stares at the note. His ears go warm.
He doesn't look up. Doesn't let himself.
But his fingers slowly fold the paper in half again… then into quarters.
He slips it into his pocket.
He doesn't reply, but his shoulders relax.
Just a little.
---
Save's Pov.
> "He looked at me first?
Did he really?
Why would he…?"
He dares a glance across the room.
Auau is already looking away.
But for a second — Save could've sworn there was something in his eyes.
Something soft.
---
The teacher claps her hands:
> "Now! Get out your schedules. We're doing a quick overview of class duties and club signups."
Groans. Rustling paper. But Save barely hears any of it.
His mind is somewhere else.
On a note that said he looked at you first.
On a smile that might've meant more.
On a hope he thought he had buried.
---
The school cafeteria. Noon.
Chairs screech. Plates clatter. Laughter echoes across the room.
---
Save follows Patji through the lunch line, trying not to scan the room too obviously.
But his eyes land on them anyway — Por and Auau — already sitting near the window, bright light hitting their table like a spotlight. They're laughing. Por is gesturing wildly with his chopsticks. Auau snorts into his juice.
It's the kind of scene that should sting.
But strangely, it doesn't hit quite as hard this time.
There's something calmer sitting in Save's chest today.
---
They get their trays and walk toward the usual table. Patji keeps up a low commentary about how cafeteria spring rolls might be an experiment gone wrong.
Save laughs under his breath. It feels… nice. Even though part of him still feels like he's watching everything from the outside.
They sit down — and almost instantly, Por waves them over.
> "Hey! Join us here!"
Patji raises a brow at Save as if to ask, You okay with that?
Save nods, almost too quickly.
> "Yeah. Sure."
So they move. Four trays clinking onto one long, rectangle table.
Auau shifts a little when Save sits beside him — not in discomfort, more like… hesitance. Or maybe surprise.
Their arms brush. Not on purpose. Not completely by accident either.
---
Por is mid-story.
> "—and the teacher seriously thought I brought a turtle to class. It was a sock! A moldy one, but still."
Everyone bursts out laughing.
Auau nearly chokes on his rice.
Save smiles. A real one this time.
A few minutes pass like that — jokes, shared complaints about morning lectures, light teasing.
Then, without a word, Auau reaches across the table — picks a fried dumpling off his own tray and gently places it on Save's.
Save blinks. Looks at him.
> "You didn't take that one earlier," Auau mumbles. "You always like the crispy ones."
Like it's nothing. Like he knows.
Patji smirks into his soup.
Por raises his brows but stays quiet.
---
Save's throat feels tight — not in a bad way, just in a surprised someone remembered something small about you kind of way.
He tries to speak. Fails.
So he just eats the dumpling.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like it means something.
Because maybe… it does.
---
Their knees brush under the table.
Neither of them moves away.
And Save… lets the silence between them exist. No pressure. No rush. Just something warm threading through the noise of the cafeteria.
---
School gates, after classes end. Late afternoon.
The sun is warm, casting shadows that stretch across the pavement.
---
The bell rings, and the school day dissolves into soft chatter and footsteps.
Students flood through the gates in groups — some running ahead, others dragging their bags like they're weighed down by homework and heat.
Save walks out with Patji, Por, and Auau. The four of them move together like a familiar shape — too familiar to question, too tangled to call simple.
There's no plan for where they're heading. They just walk.
---
Por kicks at a small rock on the sidewalk, sending it bouncing forward.
> "That rock's a metaphor for my GPA."
Patji laughs.
> "More like a metaphor for your life choices."
Por gasps, pretending to be offended, and bumps shoulders with Patji.
> "Rude. I have great life choices. I chose to be your friend, didn't I?"
Save listens, amused but quiet.
Auau glances at him. Doesn't say anything. Just looks.
They keep walking.
---
They reach a fork in the road — the split between the path toward the town center and the shortcut toward their homes.
Por suddenly turns to Patji and points dramatically.
> "Hey. Didn't you say you needed to buy… notebook dividers? Or—oh! Erasers. Like ten of them?"
Patji blinks.
> "When did I say that?"
Por shrugs too quickly.
> "Just now. In my head. Come on."
He grabs Patji's arm and drags him ahead.
Patji mouths a confused "What?" at Save but lets himself be pulled.
Save watches them go, eyebrows lifting — then looks beside him.
Auau is still there.
Just the two of them now.
---
The air shifts again — softer, still.
They keep walking, slower now.
Neither of them speaks.
Not yet.
Their shoulders stay close, but not touching.
And for the first time all day, Save can hear his own breath again.
Not because he's nervous.
But because the quiet… doesn't feel like pressure anymore.
It just feels quiet.
---
Auau finally breaks the silence.
> "You okay today?"
Save looks over, a little caught off guard.
Then nods.
> "Yeah. I think so."
A pause.
Auau adds, almost hesitantly:
> "You didn't talk much during lunch."
Save glances down at the sidewalk, then offers the smallest smile.
> "Didn't feel like I needed to."
Auau looks at him for a second — longer than most people would hold eye contact.
Then gives a soft nod.
> "Good."
---
A breeze blows past them, and Auau lifts a hand, brushing hair from his eyes.
As he does, his knuckles lightly graze Save's.
Neither of them pulls away.
Save swallows.
His fingers don't move. But they want to.
---
They stop at the crosswalk near the neighborhood turn.
Save's house is two blocks to the left. Auau's is straight ahead.
The red pedestrian light flickers.
They wait.
> Save finally says, "Hey."
Auau turns, humming quietly:
> "Mm?"
Save's fingers fidget with his backpack strap.
> "Thanks. For walking."
Auau gives a half-smile, small and warm.
> "We always walk this way."
Save laughs a little under his breath.
> "Yeah. I know."
Green light flashes.
They both start crossing.
Halfway through, Auau looks at him again.
> "You'll be okay, right?"
Save nods, honest this time.
> "Yeah. I think so."
At the other side, their ways split.
They both slow down.
Then—Auau lifts a hand.
Just a tiny wave.
Save hesitates… then waves back.
Auau turns and walks.
Save watches for a second.
Only a second.
Then turns, too.
And smiles.
---
Save is back in his room after school. The house is quiet — just the faint clatter of dishes from the kitchen and the hum of a ceiling fan.
His school bag lies beside the bed, half-zipped. His uniform is wrinkled from the long day. He sits at his desk, trying to study, but the numbers on the page blur together.
He sighs, pushes the book aside.
Then his eyes drift toward the shelf.
There it is.
The Book.
The one he found in the library. The one that said…
You are not the main character.
He hasn't touched it in weeks.
Had even thought of giving it back. But didn't.
He walks over and pulls it down. The cover is plain. A little dusty.
He hesitates.
Then opens it.
The pages… seem emptier now. As if the ink is fading.
Only one thing remains — a line, barely visible at the bottom of the last page:
> "You are with them. But that doesn't mean you belong."
He stares at it.
His heart sinks for a moment. That familiar sting.
But then — his gaze shifts.
To the side table.
To the little black cat plushie sitting there.
The one Auau gave him. He reaches out, picks it up.
The soft fabric presses into his chest as he hugs it.
And for the first time in a while…
he doesn't feel alone.
> "Maybe… I don't need a book to tell me who I am."
> "Maybe I just need to live."
He sets the book down. Gently.
Back on the shelf.
Then curls up on his bed, still holding the plushie.
His eyes flutter shut.
> "Tomorrow… I'll try again."
> "Not because I have to."
> "Because I want to."
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— End of Chapter 16 —