In your life, you're the main character. And in other people's lives, you're just a side character. That's a truth we all have to accept, a truth we all have to be aware of. If we're not aware of this fact, then one day, this fact will come to take us by surprise. Everyone has a story, their story. Their own themes, their own motivations, their own cast. Everyone has their own place in this world.
Some people get mixed up and form a story together. Some people go on their own path and see what the world brings. But in the end, everyone has a story. Including myself. But, the story that I have right now, isn't the story that I want. And it makes me question, what story would I like to have?
A normal life? How do you define a normal life? I guess you could say a life without trouble, but trouble will always find you. Maybe it's just a life in which you can do what you want, but not everyone is able to do what they want. So what is a truly normal life? Well, I have no clue. But I know one thing for sure, I want something calm.
But, in the end, I guess I'm still thrown into stories. Luckily, I'm never really the main character. Because I know that if I become the main character of a story, it'll be a tragedy. That's always the case. But, I guess there's still a bit of hope left. After all, the last story I got involved with didn't end tragically.
Emma's weird. I don't know what to think about her.
"Yoohoo, Henry," Nello said, waving his hand before my eyes.
"Huh?"
"You were deep in your thoughts, weren't you?!"
"Yup, so deep I'm actually drowning."
"That's no good! Let's not drown here!"
"I don't want to die yet either, so no drowning."
"No drowning!"
"Yup, no drowning."
"Do you want to go and swim?!"
"Dude, no drowning."
"No drowning.."
What was this conversation? It's like the tone switched in this entire story. At first I was talking about stories and next up my monologue gets interrupted by dialogue. That's not fun, I was busy talking, writer.
Either way, you may question what we're doing. And if you didn't question it, well boohoo. Basically, Nello and I are sitting in the cafeteria at school. I'm getting heavy glares coming from the popular girls table. More specifically, it's her again, Emma. She's been staring at me ever since our story. I mean, she's a nice girl, but I don't think I'm open for a romance story right now.
It is hilarious to troll her though.
But then trouble arose. Great, dang it. Okay. It's not directed at me though but it seems this guy, Nello, over here got in trouble with the wrong people. I sipped on some juice before staring at the three big guys that walked right up to our table.
"Well well, isn't that Nello and his little boyfriend?"
"Dude, I'm not his boyfriend."
"Shut up nerd! No one was talking to you."
"New bully nerd interaction, how exciting."
Ugh, this again.
"Guys, what are you doing here! Leave us alone!"
"Nello, you should've left us alone. You're trying to play the hero, aren't you? Huh? You should stop now, this is your final warning. Otherwise.."
"No! As long as bullies like you exist, I will never stop!"
"Psh, you'll see what's going to come next."
"Not today please, let me finish my sandwich," I said, trying to de-escalate it.
"You.." a bully said and looked at me.
"Leave us be!" Nello said.
"Psh, enjoy this day. It'll be your last," one of the bullies said before they all walked away.
{"Are you implying murder?"}
I looked over at Nello. Great, this guy is getting into even more bully messes. Is that his story? Wait, hold up, isn't he supposed to be the chuunibyou? What is his story leading up to then? A chuunibyou in a bully story? That's weird. Maybe I shouldn't rule out the possibility of him actually having a demon inside of him.
Hm, but when you see Nello, you wouldn't really expect a demon inside of him. Though, his last name does sound demonic, I can't lie. So, what is he? Is he actually a demon holder or is everything building up for him to be a demon chuunibyou? Damn, I don't know what he is.
"Ugh, bullies."
"Tough."
"I just wished they could disappear!"
"Let me guess, you're constantly saving others from the bullies."
"Exactly!"
"You're going to get in trouble."
"I-I don't care.. If it means no one gets hurt again, I'll sacrifice myself!"
You can't deny that he's heroic. Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense for him to have an inner demon. It perfectly captures the trope of opposites: the demon and the hero.
He's a real mystery. For one, he's the first person to stick around with me. Second, his storyline is ambiguous. Just who is he?
The bell rang and we had to go to our classes. I waved Nello goodbye, he had to go to his own class. Either way, someone else came to me. You already know who it is, it's that girl again.
"Hey Henry!"
"Yo Emma."
"Want to go out again today?"
"Sorry, I'm hanging out with Nello today."
"Awh, okay! Maybe some other time!"
"Yeah, just not this chapter."
"Huh?"
"Yuh."
But as I went to class, I heard some commotion happening. What was it this time? Another bully that got defeated? Oh, wait, it really is that. Wait I recognize that guy fighting the bully, that's Nello. Didn't he just get a warning? Oh right, heroic spirit.
"Leave Larry alone!"
"T-thank you Nello."
"Don't thank me until your safety is assured!"
"O-okay!"
"Psh, did I not warn you, Nello?!" the bully said.
"I can't just look away from injustice, Emmanuel!"
Emmanuel, that was the name of the bully, he's pretty popular in the 4th year for being like the leader of our year. Should I mention his name in the dialogue tags? No, too much work, the voices are pretty distinct either way.
"Actions have consequences, Nello."
"Your actions certainly do, Emmanuel!"
"I'm going to beat you up!"
"I'll beat you up before you can!"
"GRAHHH!!" Emmanuel yelled before throwing a fist towards Nello.
At first I was hyped. Was I finally going to see if Nello had a demon now or not? This actually made me slightly excited. For the first time, I couldn't guess what was going to happen next. But then something actually unexpected happened, like, something I couldn't have possibly predicted.
A teacher intervened.
"You two, what is going on?! Everyone, go to your classes!"
"Ha.. Sorry, teacher, we were just messing around," Emmanuel replied with a cliché line.
"No, we weren't messing around! You-" Nello was talking but got interrupted by Larry, who pulled onto his sleeve and said, "W-we were messing around yeah, don't worry, teacher!"
Of course it ended like this. The teacher looked at them and went away. Since the scene ended, I also walked towards my own classroom again. This was such a stereotypical clash that ended in nothing. It's the usual.
I sat down in my chair and gazed around the class. The delinquents were smoking inside. The jocks were throwing a football around. The popular girls were talking about some idols. And Larry was sitting awkwardly in his own chair. Things were basically like usual.
Oh but suddenly I heard a crash outside. When I aimed my eyes towards the door, I saw papers on the ground and a pink haired girl trying to pick them back up. Then, she walked through the door and placed them on her desk.
Someone else went through the door after her though, it was Makoto.
Wait a second, I recognize this scene. It's the stereotypical scene where the two love birds crash into each other while one of them has a stack of papers. Of course this happened, it's a classic.
"Thanks for helping me, Makoto, I'm really sorry!"
"It's okay."
Yup, classic.
…
Soon, it was leisure time again. I was sitting calmly in my chair until suddenly Nello walked into the room with a hasty expression.
"Hey Nello."
"Hey Henry! Larry, we have to talk!"
"W-what's wrong, Nello?"
"Why did you do that?! They were bullying you! Why did you let them go?!"
"W-we shouldn't make trouble-"
"We?! They're the ones making trouble! We're the ones defending!"
"Nello, didn't Emmanuel warn you? Get out of here, runt," Brody Brodicus, one of the delinquents said.
"No! Hell no! Do you think I'll just listen to what you say? To hell with that! Larry, tell me, is he bothering you too?"
"N-no.."
"You heard him, we're not bothering him at all," Brody said with a sinister smile.
"That's a lie," I said.
"You.. Don't butt in, Lar-ass."
"Ugh, that nickname again."
I didn't really want to say anything, it wasn't really my job to interfere with this storyline, but it pissed me off too much. In the end, I can't always hold myself back either.
"Bully, go away," Nello said.
"Psh, figured you'd be here," Emmanuel said while standing at the door of the class.
"Oh, Emmanuel, you're here," Brody itched his hair while looking at him, "Want to take over?"
"Of course," Emmanuel responded while chewing on some gum and blowing a bubble with it.
The two stood face to face against each other as the entire class watched. Nello was only around 160 centimeters, facing someone who was nearly 2 heads taller than him. A dwarf versus a giant, that's what it was. Everyone's attention was captured by the two.
Nello held his arms up in a guard and said the following, "Don't you dare place even one more step!"
"Or else?"
"Or else…"
But suddenly, Emmanuel stepped even closer. And without missing a beat, he swung with his right fist towards Nello's face. Nello, with a weak defense, couldn't block it and was knocked off balance. But even though his lip was bleeding, he got up.
"You.. Will.. Not.. Get.. To Larry."
"Nello, please stop," Larry said.
"No! Hell no! These bullies will not get what they want!"
"Dumbass, you shouldn't have messed with other people's business," Emmanuel said before striking Nello once again, this time right on his nose.
This caused Nello to have tears in his eyes, ones he couldn't control. But still, he tried to keep his guard up. Though it was of no use, because Emmanuel swung again. But this time, it didn't land , Emmanuel's arm got grabbed and redirected.
"Let's end it here."
"Who the hell are you?"
"Henry!" Nello yelled.
"Just someone who's tired of all this commotion in my classroom. Go and take your business elsewhere, I'm trying to sleep."
Emmanuel walked back and made some distance between us. He's really tall, I'm just about 175 centimeters, but this guy.. Maybe 190? Either way, his size wasn't a big issue. Rather, it was the spotlight. Everyone's attention was set on me right now. Come on Nello, activate your ability… I don't want to hold the spotlight for long.
"Psh, and why should I follow your orders?!"
"Why not?"
"You.. I'll kill you!"
"Okay, before you do that.. Nello! Do it."
"What?.." Nello asked.
I turned around and said, "Don't know, unleash hell?"
How was I going to handle this situation? I could fight Emmanuel and beat him easily. Right now, he had thousands of openings I could use. Maybe I could use a pen to penetrate into his carotid artery? Or maybe I should dislocate his shoulder? He had a wide open stance despite trying his best to guard. You can tell he hasn't really fought seriously. It doesn't seem like he's underestimating me. His feet are completely off, one push and he's on the ground, he's really just an amateur. In most games and movies, he'd just be another henchman the hero defeats. Basically, he's fodder.
But, if I was going to beat him.. That'd probably mean even more trouble for me. There's a chance I'd get into the spotlight of the school, which isn't nice. I want to live a calm life, so that would suck. So, Nello, you're going to have to defeat him for me.
"You're one arrogant piece of crap!" Emmanuel said while swinging his fist towards me.
It's predictable. His right shoulder moved and instinctively I reacted. Then I realized I weaved, while I shouldn't have. But I already felt my right arm getting ready to send a hook punch into his solar plexus. It was all happening too quick, I had to inhibit my response.
Instead of punching him, I just slipped through him and sent a weak left jab to his chest. When I glanced over at Nello, he was still not done charging up his inner demon. Come on! Release it dude! This is actually stressful! What if I accidentally defeat Emmanuel?!
There was no other choice. I had to do this. UGH, I DON'T WANT THIS! I hate this. I closed my eyes and allowed Emmanuel to land a fat blow on my face- pause. I crashed over the desks and got up again.
"You.. Will.. Leave your hands off of my friend," I said while getting back up.
Obviously, I was acting. I saw that there were a bunch of pens on the ground together with a chair. I could easily use this chair or a pen as a weapon. There was also tape, but to be honest that's only needed to cover up wounds in case I do stab someone accidentally.
Instead of using all of those handy tools, I simply put up my guard again. But internally, I was dying. I could take him on so easily, but I'm forced to hold back. Why? Why is this my fate?
He punched straight through my guard. While sending that haymaker, he nearly fell because of his own trash balance. Though, he did land a hit on me so I'm actually the one that fell. I got back up again, my face was already quite bloody.
"Give up, runt," Emmanuel said.
"Nah, I don't like giving up."
Nello, get your act together! Why are you still just looking at me?! Are you really just a chuunibyou?! Oh no, no, don't TELL ME YOU ARE. I'm so dead. I'm already toast either way. The other bullies are just looking and laughing while I'm getting my ass beat. This is already a clear indicator I'm going to get targeted even more after this.
"Nello is my only friend.. No, he's my best friend. If he wants to face the obvious bullying problem in school, then I stand by him. And that means I'll always stand, I'll always fight. As long as my legs work, I will stand. Nello, do you know what makes a hero cool?"
"W-what?"
"It's that they never give up. And I'll be an example of that," I said while tightening my headband.
"You!" Emmanuel yelled, throwing another haymaker at me.
Then another one followed, and another one, and soon my entire body was covered in blood. I have only been beat up this bad once before.. It really did hurt. But I couldn't think, because as soon as I stood up, I was punched in the face again.
"Any last words, motherf-"
"LET HIM GO!" Nello yelled while pushing Emmanuel.
Because Emmanuel was terrible at balance, he fell onto the ground. He got back up and was even more pissed. My body was already failing on me, which made me drop on my knees.
"I will kill all of you!"
"Henry.. You really went so far for me.. I can't let you receive all those punches. I'll do like you said."
When Nello turned his face towards me, his eyes were red with tears rolling down. That's when I realized that what he was saying wasn't true, there was no demon inside of him. No, he was the demon.
"I'll unleash hell," Nello said while turning towards Emmanuel.
"Who are you?! What are you?!"
"I'm.."
Nello's eyes widened even more as he leaped towards Emmanuel ready to send a punch.
"The one who will become the greatest superhero in the world!"
As soon as he said that, his punch connected with Emmanuel's face. He crashed into the ground, knocked out. And the boy with the red eyes landed. His red eyes transformed back to normal and his gaze was aimed at me again.
"Henry, we have to get you to the infirmary!"
"Yeah.."
No crap, I was fully covered in blood. But, I guess that's just the usual. In the end, I passed out. When I woke up, all I saw were the lights on the ceiling of the infirmary. That was horrible. I felt pain everywhere. I'm surprised I wasn't sent to a hospital..
"Oh, Henry! You woke up!" Nello said.
"Yeah," I said while sitting upwards.
"I'm so glad you're okay.."
"I won't die that easily."
"Heh, I won't let you! You're the most awesome friend I've ever had."
That actually felt nice to hear.
But then I was taken by surprise, I got hugged.
"I'm so glad you're okay.."
"You said that already."
"I had to say it twice! You don't know how scared I was!"
"Well, I'm glad, I guess."
"Hey, Henry.."
"What?"
"Is it true? Am I your best friend?"
I gulped a little. I did say that. And it wouldn't be a lie. Yes, Tay and Tan were basically like family to me, but they weren't really my best friends. Daniel was also basically just my brother.. But best friends? No, I don't think I've ever really had one.
Well, that is until now.
"Yeah."
"Henry! Well, you're my best friend too!"
He hugged me even tighter, and it HURTED.
"Hey, Nello, I haven't really recovered!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
He said before releasing his grip. But then, he looked as if he remembered something. He grabbed onto a note and a cupcake before giving them to me.
"A girl came by and told me to give you this."
"Oh."
"Get well soon! You were really cool today!" is what stood on the note given with the cupcake. I immediately knew who gave me this. Well, I guess this wasn't so bad either.