eternal

november song / tadarah

inspired by baek yerin's 'november song'

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yamaguchi tadashi was that boy: the awkward, quiet boy who sat in the corner of the classroom right next to the windows. he never spoke unless he was spoken to, and he only talked more than he needed to to tsukishima. he was always seen by girls as tsukishima's friend, the one that can be used as a channel to get close to the tall blonde. (too bad for them, tsukishima never paid them much attention in the first place.)

yamaguchi always saw him as a side character. if he were to appear in a fairytale, he would be the page boy appearing on page fifteen, or the gardener drawn in the background. for him, being just there was okay. it was okay if tsukishima was the main point and he was the 'but'. as long as he wasn't a forgotten face, he was okay with it.

however, there came a day he didn't want to live like that anymore. he wanted to be seen, to be noticed, to be perhaps, loved — all because of a single girl: sarah.

it was funny, wasn't it? to have lived like an extra of a major production but suddenly wanting to be noticed? to be the star, the protagonist, the hero? (maybe he didn't want to be the hero, per se; he just wanted to be seen as a someone for once.)

"what's wrong with you?" tsukishima asked one day, his patented impassive, blank look still on his face, "you're happier and, i don't know... jittery, these few days."

"m-me?" yamaguchi stuttered, then rushed to fill in that dubious reply with a scoff, "i don't know what you're talking about."

"yes," the blonde sighed through his nose, "yes, you do."

yamaguchi didn't say anything else. arguing with his friend wouldn't get him anywhere; tsukishima was perpetually right all the time. winning an argument against him would be doing the impossible.

so it was natural tsukishima was proven right again when he caught yamaguchi staring a tad bit too long than usual at a girl. tsukishima recognised her: she was sarah from the next-door physics class.

"so, sarah?" tsukishima said after class, a hint of mischief in his golden-brown eyes.

yamaguchi immediately turned a few shades darker of red, wishing he could disappear into his hair or thin air, he doesn't mind which.

"you can't be just simply staring at her, you know," the taller male said with a little sigh, "she won't be able to notice you that way."

"i just don't want to embarrass myself," the freckled male said meekly, then added in a softer voice, "i'm just... me. there's nothing special about me."

"no, there is," tsukishima said, "there are things about you that make you special. being caring, for instance, and being nice. not everyone has a soft heart like you, yamaguchi."

yamaguchi's jaw fell slightly, and he stared at his friend with wide eyes. tsukishima had never really complimented him before, so this was something new and big. monumental, even.

he smiled, "thanks, tsukki."

catching a girl's attention, however, proved to be difficult. he didn't know how tsukishima managed to do it, but he was surely envious of whatever the blonde had that he himself was lacking in. however, he thought of a plan that he found always proved to be successful in almost every drama his mother watched.

"sarah?" he said one day, her name rolling off his lips easily yet oddly, like it was meant to be.

sarah quirked an eyebrow up at him, beckoning him to continue.