Side Character's Curse

15|| Remember

I pulled my knees to my chest, not giving a damn about decorum, and rested my cheek against it while holding Rowan's gaze. "At the time, I didn't have the System. I was on my own, but I knew this story. It was one of my favourites, although its name escapes me now. I remember thinking I had no intention to follow the original plot and decided to completely butcher it."

I let out a quivering breath. I had never told this to anyone. "I met a girl called Freya. The true female lead of the story. She was... so wonderful. She had hair the colour of a spider's web after a night of rain, startling green eyes which reminded me of a fresh meadow, and a personality which drew everyone towards her– including me. And then..." I stopped, a plug of emotions tangled in my vocal cords. I turned away, pressing my nose against the smooth cloth of my dress.

"And then what?" he whispered.

"I fell in love!" The words were ripped out of my mouth in a guttural cry. "I fell in love with her! I even– I even confessed I wasn't from this world and she was from a novel. She– she told me she understood and felt the same about me, but you know what happened next? She met him. The male lead. Freya claimed it was only natural as they were destined to be together, and if I truly loved her I would be happy for her. I tried to be. So much. I stepped back and faded into the shadows, content to forever be on the sidelines. But the male lead wasn't satisfied, convinced I was still competition. So, he branded me as a villainess and executed me. And while he was shouting vile curses at me, Freya stood by his side and condemned me, stating my feelings for her were immoral and discredited her relationship with him."

"Oh God..." Rowan pressed his fingers to his lips. "I am so sorry that happened to you."

"There's more!" I let out a sardonic laugh, moisture gathering in the corner of my eyes. "In my second story, I vowed to stay away from the main romance, convinced it would only lead to destruction. Then, I met him. The second male lead. Oliver was his name. He made me laugh again and showed me how to see the beauty in the world. I thought it would be okay to allow myself to love him– he wasn't the main guy, right? We could get our happily-ever-afterwards with each other, right? But I forgot my place. I was just a side character. I wasn't enough to stop him from falling for the female lead and abandoning me. To freely chase after his true love, he stabbed me thirteen times while I was sleeping in the bed we shared."

"No. No, no, no," Rowan babbled under his breath. "No, that's– no. I– I'm sorry. I can't– I can't imagine a deity cruel enough to subject you to this."

"Yeah." I rubbed my face, wiping away the tears. "The System came in my... sixth story. I followed its task and left the story without experiencing any grief, and it became easier to deal with if I thought of them as characters fulfilling a role." I chortled without a drop of humour. "There's only so many times a heart can break before it's impossible to piece back together. I've stopped believing myself worthy of love a long, long time ago." The ache crescendoed and flooded down my spine.

"In the tapestry of life, every soul– regardless of its flaws or scars– is weaved with golden threads deserving of love," Rowan said, leaning over to intertwine our hands together. His warmth spread through my arm and reignited some part of me I thought had died a long time ago.

"That's beautiful. Whose quote is it?"

His stare clicked onto mine. "Yours."

I let out a sharp shout, doubling over as a searing agony ripped through my body.

Colours flashed before my eyes, collecting together to form a face and scenes I knew.

Rowan, waving at me from across a compound in my seventh story.

My ninth story, helping me to run away from the main enemy after I'd diverted their attention.

Twelfth, taking me to the hospital when I was thrown twenty feet into a brick wall after the bomb set off by the female lead.

Seventeenth, jumping into an ocean to pull me out after a boat capsized and everyone else focussed on saving the leads first.

Nineteenth, allowing me to copy his test in a biology lesson when I couldn't revise as I was setting up the date between the two male leads.

He saved me.

Again and again and again.

In almost every story, we had met. We had been acquaintances, friends, and even enemies. He'd pushed my buttons and I'd irritate him in return. But he never left. Not once. Not even when I would forget him in the next story, not even when I would leave him to go follow the whims of the main characters. He was always there.

"It's you," I gasped, grasping his arm. "It's always been you, Ro."

His features broke into something half-relieved and half-ecstatic. "You remember."

I lunged over, catching him by surprise, and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in the crook of his neck. He paused for a second, then wrapped his arms around my waist.

I tried to pull away, but he made a noise of annoyance at the back of his throat, and I didn't get far. I chuckled and rested my head on his right shoulder. "What do we do now?"

His chest deflated. "Now, we work on getting us both back to our original world. Together."

"Together," I echoed, joining our hands. Perhaps it was the night air, but I imagined they fit like the final two pieces of a puzzle.

He opened his mouth, but was cut off by a horrified screech from below reminiscent of metal tearing apart.

"Rowan!" A voice bellowed. "You damned boy, what have you done with my cat?"

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Total word count: 24 446

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