This is all we've got

Chapter nine: broken pieces fit together

Sixteen had forgotten, once again, how small moments of happiness tended to be followed by something worse. This worse came in the form of Haru, staring at her blankly and asking her to move out of the way.

Kyung seemed just as bewildered by the presence of the other boy by his side, and maybe a little confused at the pain in Sixteen eyes too.

Not again.

She couldn't handle being abandoned again. So, she walked away, determined to avoid Haru like the plague from that moment on.

Except he was everywhere. Anytime she wanted to talk to Kyung, Haru was trailing behind him like an oversized puppy. Kyung would call out to her but one look at Haru's empty gaze and Sixteen was walking away as fast as she could.

She was sorry to Kyung, she really was, but if she had to face Haru ignoring her again, her heart might not be able to handle it. She was just an extra, she wasn't built to handle that much emotional weight. Yes, she was weak, but she'd known that from the start.

Sixteen was just grateful that now that Haru had been made into a supporting character, the writer had little reason or intention of throwing them together in a scene. She didn't know how Haru and Danoh had managed to do it, but she supposed this was the consequence of messing with the story so adamantly. And if Haru didn't remember her, then there was a high chance he wouldn't remember Danoh. The girl probably wasn't taking it much better than she was.

Considering how lately she would make her escape whenever she saw Haru, it wasn't all too surprising that Kyung wasn't the first person who managed to corner her about the situation. Still, the fact that it was Eun Danoh left her a little bewildered.

Sixteen had been sitting with a book on the Sahara propped out in front of her as she kept one eye on the sandy pictures and another on the door just in case. She'd been so absorbed in her multi-tasking that she hadn't noticed the small girl sidle up to her until she was pulling back a chair and sitting down with a purposefully bright smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Eun Danoh. We're in the same class."

Sixteen edged subtly away, wondering if this was someone else she needed to avoid.

"Yes, I know," she said warily. "Can I help you?"

"You're self-aware, aren't you? Haru told me."

"Haru told you... about me."

Danoh nodded, smile faltering a little. "Yes."

"Right."

Sixteen spared a glance to the door and winced when she saw Kyung marching towards her, Haru trailing cluelessly behind. She stood suddenly, hurriedly thinking of all possible escape roots until she heard the tell-tale sound of a page turning. That was honestly one of the rare times that that sound had given her that much relief and she inwardly cheered when she opened her eyes and found herself outside, walking between trees on the school grounds as Lee Dohwa and Yeo Juda talked nearby.

Of course, Sixteen wouldn't be able to escape either of them forever. She knew that. It wasn't like she wanted to avoid Kyung forever, anyway. She hated that she had to avoid him.

Still, she was grateful that it was Danoh who found her first once more. The girl seemed to have a better knack than her fiancé but maybe that was because she wasn't the one with a follower hindering her search.

"Something's wrong with Haru," was the first thing Eun Danoh said to her when she saw her again. The short girl didn't waste time, sitting across from Sixteen where she had been enjoying her recent freedom at a peripheral cafeteria table in the aftermath of the scene that had just ended. Sixteen appreciated the bluntness but this was one of the rare times she got to eat so she'd really rather focus on her food.