Archive of Our Own

The first time they met Boboiboy, he only spared them a short greeting.

It was the first day of school for all seven of them. The elementals were transfer students, strangers who got placed in the same class somehow.

The teacher introduced them to the rest of the class, of course, which was standard. The students who crowded around them once homeroom was over were typical as well, since it's their classmates' way of sizing them up.

Of course, they play along. Acting like their most favorable selves, just so they can have a peaceful year.

Boboiboy was there, the brothers were sure. Likely sizing them up, too, just by looking. But at the moment, they didn't care.

Boboiboy didn't, either.

That first school day was uneventful, despite the orientation and mingling. Kristal quickly established himself to be a reliable person to the class council, and Nova didn't think twice about applying for soccer this time.

Then, Nova coincidentally saw the name Boboiboy bin Amato in the members list just as a soccer ball was headed to hit his face.

"Woah!"

A hand caught the ball inches before it actually hit him. Just in time, too.

"Ow, ow, ow", his impromptu savior winced, bringing the ball a little lower. Eyes as brown as chocolate fell on Nova, glimmering with worry. "Are...you okay?"

Nova blinked. He opened his mouth to respond. 

"Boboiboy!"

His savior squawked, tossing the ball by reflex. The other soccer players pulled him back in the game, and all Nova could do was just observe as the guy let them.

"Sorry about that", the person holding the registration forms said. "Saved in the nick of time, yeah?"

Hm. "Yeah..."

He kept note of it for later, told Blizzard and the others when they gathered at the school gates.

It wasn't really much for them, just something mildly interesting. Voltra did point out that they need to repay the kindness, since they agreed early on that any good deed given to them should be repaid.

All in all, still not that eventful of a day.

But by the street three blocks down, they caught a curious sight.

"A leaf? For me?", a smile appears happily. "Thank you!"

A giggling child was holding a kitten in his hands. A teenager was crouched to his level, with a sweet face and bright eyes. The teen held a leaf in his hand.

That same leaf flew from the force of the wind, coincidentally blowing, drifting without intention. Gamma caught it with his fingers.

And suddenly, the teenager, who was the one who saved Nova earlier from a ball to the face, ran up to them. "Oh! You caught it!"

Gamma looked at the leaf. Then, at the teenager.

He returned the leaf with no question. They were then promptly awarded with a bright grin.

"Thank you so much!", he says. Then he got a good look at their faces. "...wait, you're the new transfer students, right? I'm Boboiboy! Just Boboiboy! It's nice to meet you!"

Kristal smiled back, as was polite. "Likewise."

"Big brother", the child grabs Boboiboy's hand before anything else could be said. "The kitty ran away again."

"Ah--really? Okay, uh. Welcome to Rintis High!"

Then, off they went, the pair of boys.

Really, what an interesting series of coincidences.

"I like him", Rimba says. Flowers nearby bloomed in response, so they knew he truly meant it. "He's nice."

Voltra and Beliung exchanged curious looks.

Perhaps this year won't be bad at all.

==

The next day, Boboiboy saw them, shamelessly walked straight to their desks, and pointed at Nova. "It's you! The almost-pancake guy!"

...Nova's eye twitched.

He takes it back. This is going to be a horrible year.

==

Even in the beginning, people were afraid of them.

It was an instinctive kind of fear, really. Something that drew other children away from them, even if they don't do anything strange. Even if they just exist.

Even if they hid their powers, the control over elements according to their names--Lightning, Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, Nature, Light...

The rest of the world always had something to say. Cruel whispers, sneers, isolation in more ways than one.

People always feared what they didn't understand.

And eventually, they got the hint. They all stopped trying beyond the bare minimum, instead choosing each other. For a time, it was enough for them; to only have each other.

But then...high school came along.

With it were the people who didn't turn away.

Fang. Stubborn, sharp-tongued, reckless, but fiercely loyal in a way they've never seen before. He didn’t flinch away from them. Instead, he challenged them, met them head-on, and demanded their attention with confidence and persistence.

Gopal. The heart of their growing circle, always laughing, always talking, always finding ways to drag them into conversations they wouldn't have otherwise joined. His easygoing nature made it impossible to stay distant.

Yaya. Kind but unshakable, carrying her strength with grace. She didn’t treat them like they were strange, but accepted them as if there was nothing odd about them at all.

Ying. A storm wrapped in a small frame, bursting with energy and impatience. She speaks in rapid-fire rambles, thoughts as fast as a bullet, and never once hesitates to include them in her endless stream of thoughts.

Boboiboy would be included in that list if he didn't start actively avoiding them after the second day. Still, who cares?

For the first time in their lives, they finally found friends. People who didn't turn away from them for once.

That's all that matters to them.

==

Something shifted when Voltra saw a crow perched on a fence near the a he usually takes to the convenience store.

It made eye contact with Voltra. Unlike other animals, it didn't look away--cawing instead like it was trying to pick a fight.

That was new.

Animals usually ran away from him at first sight...

"Shhh", and then a familiar voice, from behind the fence. "Be quiet. You need to respect the dead, you know?"

Oh.

Voltra had a choice here. It was either he minded his own business, or he finds out if the person on the other side of that line of wood is who he thinks it is.

He could very much have went on his way.

Maybe it was the strange birds. Maybe it was the whole scene in general. But Voltra ultimately chose to walk over to the fence regardless of reason.

The second Voltra got near, a brown-haired teen snapped his head up in alarm. 

Boboiboy.

...uh. Boboiboy, with a box.

The confusion must have shown in Voltra's face, since Boboiboy looked at the box then at Voltra again. He then looks away. "I found a dead dog on the road."

"Ah", Voltra says, even though it just raised more questions than answers. Is the dead dog a stranger? If it fit in that tiny box, was it a puppy?

Boboiboy answered neither of those things. He just lowered the box into a...hole dug into the ground. Voltra watched as the teen promptly covered the box up again with dirt.

"I just...thought he looked lonely", was the only explanation Voltra got about it. "The least I can do was make sure he got to rest properly."

Boboiboy had been crying. Its obvious with how puffy the teen's eyes are.

It wasn't just a simple kindness to a pitiful creature, though Voltra didn't know about it at the time.

At the time, Voltra didn't care. "I see."

He did find it noteworthy, how kind Boboiboy seemed to be. How thoughtful and empathetic.

Yet still just the same as the others--

"Have you ever thought about how you'll die? Like, how you want it to go."

Huh?

What.

Voltra's eyebrows furrowed. "That's...why would you think about that?"

Why spring this out on him?? They're strangers???

A quiet sigh. Boboiboy looks up at the sky, eyes soft, contemplating.

"It's corny, but I want to die after a long life when I'm old and wrinkly", the teen smiles. "Surrounded by people I love. They'd say, See you around, and I'll know I'm loved, too."

A petal drifts down from the small flower bouquet Boboiboy was holding.

"Wouldn't that be nice?", he adds, like an afterthought.

What could Voltra say?

What was there for him to say? To what was practically a stranger, too.

...Boboiboy looks at him for a bit. Then he grins. "Anyway! Have you always been ginger?"

The crow flew away.

==

In another life, they found Boboiboy interesting because he was so normal. So unapologetically average in everything.

That's all good and everything. But that's not the case here.

In this life, Boboiboy was too confusing for them when they first got to know him, and so they were naturally wary.

This started with that time by the fence.

The next time was when the siblings were running late for once. It wasn't intentional, just an unfortunate accident with the alarm clock, but it didn't change the fact that they all woke an hour later than usual.

Which means when Kristal--the one usually there first among the brothers--arrived, he sees their friends crowd around one person in particular.

"Let's play Eraser Drop!", the guy declared, raising a single white eraser like it's the best thing since sliced bread. "First one who loses has to buy lunch for the winner!"

Yaya shook her head. Gopal and Ying with both pumped up about it, meanwhile. Fang just sighs, but took out his own eraser.

"Okay. Like last time, last eraser on the table wins", Fang says. "Everyone ready?"

They nod.

Curious, Kristal found himself approaching this spectacle. "Hello, good morning. What are you guys playing?"

--Boboiboy flicked the eraser, sending it all the way to the teacher's blackboard. It went THUD.

They all froze.

"Ah", Boboiboy's body barely moved except for his lips. "My hand slipped."

Without warning at all, Fang grabbed Boboiboy's shoulders with the anger of a thousand gods. "You did that on purpose!!"

Yaya sighs tiredly, fondly.

Ying shook her head and looked back at Kristal. "We're playing eraser battle royale. Wanna join?"

Somehow, all the brothers managed to play in before classes started. Gamma was the clear winner.

Kristal failed to notice until later that Boboiboy faded to the background just as quickly as he was the center of attention earlier

...huh.

==

Rimba looked up, frowning when Gamma walked in with lunch clearly from the cafeteria.

"That Boboiboy guy bought this for me", he says. "To keep the deal with the game or something..."

Huh.

==

"Wait! Why are you avoiding me!?"

"Huh?", Boboiboy looks at Nova, confused. "You're the one who made it clear?"

Nova's eyes narrowed. "Made what clear?"

Normally, Nova wasn't bothered by the sudden coldness. He's used to the switch-ups, really, and had experienced it for most of his life.

But this is irritating?? Boboiboy wasn't even subtle about it!! Like he leaves the moment Nova enters the room if possible!

"Didn't you hate me?"

...okay, that one. Nova didn't expect that. "Hate you?"

Boboiboy nods furiously. "Like! I called you and you made this reaaally angry face! That usually means I should never talk to you again. I can take a hint."

What, huh?

"First of all, I never thought that", Nova points out. "Second, you insulted me!"

"I didn't get your name! The team leader called you almost-pancake face, I thought you guys were close and it was a nickname!"

"...team leader?"

Boboiboy crossed his arms. "You got in the team, by the way. Congrats."

"Uh" Nova says eloquently. "Thank? You?"

Boboiboy nods.

Two crows landed on the power line post nearest to them, just as the conversation unwillingly continued. "So, you don't hate me?"

"I don't even know you that much."

"Hmmm. Okay", and the switch-up from upset to happy is insane. "Boboiboy bin Amato! Sorry about the misunderstanding. What's your name?"

"Uh. Nova Tengku."

Boboiboy's eyes sparkled.

Nova suddenly had the overpowering urge to back away.

==

"You might want to dye your hair black or brown if you don't want hands all over it", Fang says later, pitying the teenager with the messy hair that landed in the classroom after lunch. "Or just, you know. Say no next time?"

Nova grumbles. "If I didn't have red hair, I'd want red hair, too."

Fang stares at him.

Nova stares back. "What?"

"...nothing. So, you're buddy-buddy now?"

"I mean, I guess."

"Good", and then. "Make sure you don't injure him. Boboiboy himself doesn't mind, but Yaya will gut you for it."

Wh.

Oh, sh*t, for real?

==

In the beginning, Boboiboy was too confusing for them that they were wary.

Even when Boboiboy started approaching them again on his own, they kept their distance because--what are they supposed to make of this guy?

The little things add onto the discomfort.

But the main thing was--the strange coincidences.

Like that one time a student was caught moments before they jumped off the school building. A scandal spread about it, about mental health and how rigid the structure of the school was, and even how some students wanted to be victims so bad.

The world was awfully cruel that way.

But when Kristal asked around in efforts to help the current President of their class, one of the teachers informed him. "Boboiboy warned us about it."

The mention made Kristal pause. "Boboiboy?"

"Oh, yes. That kid's got a scary accurate sense of intuition. If he tells you something is going to happen, you need to act immediately. Speaking from experience."

"I see..."

"You're classmates, right? Do you want to visit him in the infirmary?"

Kristal stares. "He's in the infirmary?"

Since it was also Kristal's job to check in with the others, he went to the infirmary room. Indeed, Boboiboy was sleeping inside. 

"This happens often", the nurse told Kristal. "He just needs a nap and something with potassium, and he'll be good as new."

Is that so...

==

They didn't know what to make of Boboiboy.

Even with the first day they met him, he seemed to move like coincidences aren't really coincidences at all. And even at the very start, he never looked away when they met eyes.

It was creepy.

So, they kept their distance...

That changed when Beliung walked past a club room and recognized the voice. "Please? Just this one time?"

Laughter sounded. Then, a boy's voice. "You're pretty pushy today. Got a crush?"

Boboiboy's voice again, adamant, slightly offended. "You know why!"

"Yes, yes, it's for your ambition", this time, a girl's voice. "But you already have lots of friends! Those weird people with the weird hair don't like you very much, either."

Weird people with the weird hair. Beliung knows that can apply to anyone, since lots of boys have weird hairstyles--

"Guys, come on! Two of them are gingers! Gingers are cool."

Nevermind.

Well, might as well. Beliung leans on the wall near the door, trying to be as silent as possible. It would do them good if they know what and how other students look at them.

"You and your obsession with different hair colors again", another girl chides. "You didn't answer the question, though. Why them specifically?"

It was silent for a little while.

Then, Boboiboy quietly says. "I was lucky enough to have you guys give me a chance. I was the weird kid, remember?"

Silence, though there was the sound of movement; the other people in that room is likely exchanging looks.

"I know how lonely it can be", Boboiboy went on. "So... please? They might be creepy sometimes, but that's just their face, I think. Yaya likes them. Ying likes them, too."

A sputter from the other boy. "Yaya likes them!?"

There was a pause. "...just from that, I think I'll push you off the window."

"Don't be like that, man!"

Beliung looked down at the shiny floors, trying to make sense of it all.

Four crows land onto the nearby window. One of the crowd stared straight at Angin, as if in accusation.

Seconds later, the birds flew away.

==

"Hey", Beliung approached Boboiboy later, after the last class of the day. "What's your ambition?"

"Hm? Why're you asking?", Boboiboy blinked. He says it anyway. "I want to be the most beloved student in school."

Beliung stares.

Boboiboy stared back. His grin widens. "Are you asking to be in my fan-club?"

Rimba was approached by three students from the theater club the next day. One boy and two girls; Iwan, Suzy, and Hanna.

Judging from his younger brother's face, the encounter went well.

==

They still didn't know what to make of Boboiboy.

But with what Beliung told them--maybe it's worth it to give him the benefit of the doubt.

...like a spider's web, they didn't know they were caught until it's too late.

==

The brothers had already been blessed with four wonderful friends.

But with Boboiboy, he was the definition of endearingly shameless. It was probably to compensate for everything else, really.

After all, he was average in his grades, his height, and even how he plays soccer. His music taste is often what's popular these days, too.

Perfectly average.

However, his personality and attitude is...unique, let's just say. In it that he never hesitated to say what he's thinking, and that he will call you out on your bullsh*t if necessary (they've seen him give Fang a thorough tongue-lashing after Fang got them both in trouble, and it was horrible for everyone involved).

In that same breath, he also loves pretending to be some sort of dame in distress when he felt like it.

Like that one time Rimba caught him when he slipped on the stairs. It was by reflex, but was easy enough to do with just a hand on Boboiboy's back.

And in return, Boboiboy looked at him with shining eyes. He promptly hugged Rimba, too. "Thank you for saving me!"

When informed about what happened later, Ying just laughed while tossing Rimba a juice box. "Don't worry about it. He's just living his best life."

The one Boboiboy liked pulling this performance the most for was, apparently, Yaya. Because Yaya loved it, for some reason.

...yeah, they don't know why, either.

It was strange.

But it wasn't a bad thing. Far from it, really. Because at least Boboiboy doesn't pull this shtick where there are other people outside their friend group around.

Surprisingly, Boboiboy has a thin face, too.

So, for them to be allowed to see this side of their new friend...

"If he likes you, he likes you", Fang sulked beside Blizzard during one afternoon, hands dangling on the railing. "Must be nice."

Blizzard blinked. "Is that what it takes?"

"Hell if I know. You guys are lucky; it took me a year of being his friend before he went all lunatic on me."

From the classroom, Boboiboy called back. "That's because you were a major bully!!"

"I said I was sorry!!"

"Apology rejected! Suffer!"

"You--!!"

Blizzard sees crows land on the floor below theirs. One, two, four, five.

There are an awful lot of crows lately.

==

Boboiboy was from the soccer club, but he liked to hang out in the theater club.

The reason?

"He's hogging the backdrop fabric again", one of the members of the theater club noted with exasperation. "Director Hadid's going to force him to be an actor as payment at this rate."

Rimba, the new addition to said club, walked near Boboiboy. "Hey, we need that, you--WAH--!"

Boboiboy pulled Rimba into this makeshift fabric bed. And then proceeded to cling sleepily and Not Let Go.

From the side, Suzy winced. "Whoops. Forgot to warn him."

Rimba struggled to get out. He does manage to almost get away, but then Boboiboy sleepily whines. "Noooo..."

And Rimba went back down out of his own volition.

"Yeah, he attacks you in the kokoro", Iwan tells belatedly, unsympathetic. "Congrats! You're stuck being his pillow for an hour."

Rimba had half a mind to use his power. He refrains.

Because misery loves company, he didn't warn Gamma when Gamma got too close, too. So now both of them were trapped here.

And then...well. No one between them knew who fell asleep first.

But when they came to, it was already sundown. Nova came to pick them up.

Boboiboy fretted when he woke up, too, apologizing over and over while Gamma and Rimba collected themselves from the makeshift bed.

Then Boboiboy commented, almost absentmindedly. "I...I was worried when you looked so tired all the time. I'm glad you look refreshed now."

Gamma stares at him.

He ended up sliding to his knees on the floor dramatically.

Boboiboy immediately panicked. "Wh-whay did I say? Oh my--I'm sorry!!"

==

Something started shifting even more.

Boboiboy, somehow, in some unexplainable way, found a place even between the brothers. He found delight in teasing Nova and Gamma, cooing over Rimba's cute face, and silently vibes with Blizzard via passing bite-sized food while sitting on a bench and looking at the sky.

He was certainly still obsessed with the ginger hair, which irked the others a little. Beliung was pretty sure part of it was because Boboiboy was amused by Gamma trying to convince him that blonde hair is better than red hair.

He also looks up to Voltra, especially when the latter scored an instant goal from thirty meters away. He also found Beliung's jokes unironically funny and doesn't flinch when Beliung becomes unstable sometimes.

"I mean, I have experience being an older brother", Boboiboy confides to Kristal, though he didn't say anything else about it. He just sinks down next to the other teen with a Chesire Cat-like grin. "Hey, hey. When I'm having a crisis, can I lie on you?"

"Sure", Kristal says, and was surprised by himself immediately after.

It scared them a little, this...ease. This warmth.

"This isn't a big deal", Gamma tells them later. "It'll pass."

And, maybe. Maybe it will.

==

The stack of books at the library table was a bit much, even for Gamma.

Boboiboy was certainly feeling a lot more horror about it. "Yaya, h-have...have mercy?"

Yaya tapped his head with a rolled-up notebook. From the noise he let out, you'd think he was brutally hit. "Stop complaining. Didn't you want to get into the same University as the rest of us?"

"We're not even seniors yet!"

"It's good to start early."

Boboiboy buries his face in his hands. 

Gamma didn't really know what to do. He'd agreed to help Boboiboy study, but with this much?

On the bright side, the weather was nice today. It wasn't raining, but cold air still surrounded their skin from the air conditioning units in the school library.

There are a lot of books in here.

But there are lots more in his home. Maybe Gamma can invite them there for next time?

"--crrph."

The three teenagers blinked.

Somehow, there was a crow here. A crow that popped up and made that weird chirping noise.

And then another crow appeared. And another.

"Oh, look at you!", Boboiboy immediately started cooing. He rubbed the first crow's head with a finger. "Welcome back. Did you eat yet?"

The crow said. "Caw!"

Then it tried to bite Boboiboy's finger. Boboiboy just laughed about it and let the bird do what it wanted.

Yaya squints at him. "Boboiboy."

"I helped one of these little guys once and now they keep showing up when I'm around", Boboiboy tells her. "Aren't they cute?"

Gamma knew that, theoretically, crows are very intelligent and loyal. A single act of kindness will push them and their kin to be endlessly loyal to this person.

It's fascinating to see the evidence in person, though.

Boboiboy went on. "You know, there's a rhyme about your fate based on how many crows there are."

Gamma leans in. "Really?"

"Yep! I think it goes like this...one crow for sorrow, two crows for mirth, three crows for a wedding, four crows for a birth, five crows for silver, six crows for gold, seven for a secret, never to be told."

Gamma and Yaya stared at him. Then they looked at the crows.

The three crows looked back.

Brightly, with no tact whatsoever, Boboiboy says to Yaya. "Hey, hey. Let's get married!"

Yaya smacking him with a rolled-up book was kind of deserved, all things considered. The lunatic was laughing, so he knows that much.

Poor Yaya's face was so red. "Stop joking around."

"It's true!"

"Stop talking!"

Boboiboy just laughs even more.

Gamma sighs. Seriously...why is Boboiboy always like this?

==

Gamma had to step away to grab a better book for the Entrepreneurship subject.

When he got back, he caught Boboiboy and Yaya closer together. Not quite touching, but voices whispered that he almost couldn't hear them.

"--m serious about it. Didn't we promise already?", Boboiboy was saying. "Why not make it official when we're adults?"

Yaya was searching his face, as if carving every inch of him into her mind. She held up her pinky. "When you live beyond twenty, I'll think about it."

His eyes widened before softening in delight. He links his own little finger with hers. "Okay. Promise."

Gamma turns away, feeling like he just witnessed something private, something only meant for those two.

But...one detail didn't leave his mind.

When you live beyond twenty, Yaya had said.

As if it wasn't a guarantee.

==

There was a small issue with the preparations for some sort of party later. Fang was panicking, saying that his older brother Kaizo will have his head of it wasn't ready.

"What's missing from the party?", Ying asked.

Fang rattled off a list. "Balloons, cupcakes, a cake, confetti--"

"Did your brother dump everything on you!?"

"I don't know!!"

"Maybe we should kill him", Boboiboy says. Voltra grabbed him in case he'd actually make that happen.

They all managed to make it work. Ying grabbed some balloons from the store nearby after school, and Gopal and Boboiboy went to Gopal's home--where there was a bakery owned by Gopal's mom.

Rimba and Kristal were in charge of the decorations, while the other brothers were in charge of making sure no uninvited guests squeeze in. If they used their powers for it, then it's no one's business but theirs.

All in all, the party preparations were a success. Kaizo even praised Fang for the touch with the crystals, and now Fang is bawling his eyes out in the back.

Voltra awkwardly gave him a handkerchief. Fang accepted, sniffling. "Guys..."

Ying immediately recoiled. "Oh, no."

"I'm really grateful--"

Gopal grabbed Fang's arms. "Stop talking!!"

Fang does not stop talking. "You're the best friends anyone could ask for--"

The weird atmosphere was even getting to Boboiboy. "Shut him up! Shut him up!!"

Gopal and Boboiboy all piled onto Fang, trying to get him to stop talking, while Fang pushed to say his rather heartfelt words. Yaya and Kristal stared, speechless.

Six crows greeted them when they got out of that gathering. The birds swiftly tried to steal the leftovers from Gopal and Boboiboy's cake.

Boboiboy dodged the crows until two of them landed on his shoulder. He fed them pieces of a slice of cake as a compromise.

No one pointed out that the brothers were watching Boboiboy the whole time.

==

"Do you guys have a crush on Boboiboy or something?", Ying asked days later, arms crossed. "If you do, hate to break it to you but--his heart's already been taken. Also, Yaya will probably castrate all of you for it."

"No, no", Nova waved a hand, and then stopped.

If even Ying noticed, maybe...it wasn't such a small thing after all, like Gamma had claimed.

This instinctive pull to this average boy. The need to observe him, keep him close.

Kristal did say that Boboiboy had a way to be both a background character and the center of attention whenever needed.

What is he doing to them?

"We just", Nova says. "Find him very...precious, to us."

"Precious", Ying snorts. "I didn't know you could be a poet."

Nova didn't know, either. He couldn't understand what he was feeling, not right now.

It wasn't romantic. Maybe it was...closer to what he felt for his brothers. He doesn't know.

Ying pats his back. "You know what? I feel you. Boboiboy just has this way about him, I think."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You think Fang of all people would hang out with him otherwise?"

That's...a good point. Hm.

"Don't think too much of it", Ying adds. Then she paused. "Except maybe if you want him to be your boyfriend. I'm an ally and all, but, again, Yaya will castrate you."

Nova shoves her off. "Thank you for the advice."

==

There was a reason for all the coincidences and strangeness attached to Boboiboy. The brothers just didn't know why it took this long for them to find out.

It started when Boboiboy collapsed while they were carrying papers for their homeroom teacher. Despite everything, Boboiboy still had his ambition of being the most beloved student in school.

Beliung once suggested changing himself to please everyone. Boboiboy outright scoffed at the idea. "It won't work if they don't love me because of who I am. That's not sustainable! I want sustainable!"

And so he did other things instead.

Like doing reasonable errands for teachers. He doesn't seem to mind if the other students think he'd be a suck-up.

And, anyway, he has the perfect excuse for these errands.

"What are you looking at me for?", Boboiboy tilts his head at this excuse, smiling. "Am I pretty?"

Yaya huffs, trying and failing to hide her own amused grin.

That time, half of their class was split up due to renovations in the Science Lab taking up space. While half of the class is inside, the other half gets to have self-study sessions.

Ying, Yaya, Boboiboy, Kristal, and Fang were among the students in the self-study group, and Boboiboy quickly got bored being stuck in the classroom. So, errands.

"I'll go here", Yaya calls after the boys, Ying following close behind as they head to the second floor. "You'll find Sir Zola on the Fourth Floor."

"I doubt he'd actually do these, though", Fang grumbled.

"Stop complaining."

They parted ways. Boboiboy was humming happily while carrying his stack, while Fang and Kristal walked alongside him.

"You're so happy, huh", Fang pointed out. "Being goody-two-shoes for our dear Class President makes your day?"

Boboiboy snorts. "I--"

And then he trips and falls, the papers scattering all over the floor. Kristal almost dropped his own stack to catch him.

At first, Fang rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You know you're just going to pick it all up yourself, right?"

--Boboiboy didn't answer. He pushed himself up, but it was like a boulder fell on his shoulders with how much his arms shook from the strain. His bangs fell over his eyes, though not before Kristal and Fang got a glimpse.

Brown turned into a luminescent orange. Wide, terrified.

"Sh*t", Fang drops his stack to the side immediately. "Boboiboy!"

He grabs their friend. Boboiboy flinched, right before clutching onto Fang like a lifeline.

Slowly, Kristal drops his stack as well.

"It's burning", a sob escaped Boboiboy's lips. The way he was holding onto Fang's hand looked downright painful. "It's burning, it burns it burns it burns it burns--!!"

"Burning", Fang's eyes widened. He whirled around to Kristal. "Check the Science Lab! Now!"

Kristal ran before the words even registered in his mind. By the time he arrived, the students were already setting up the Bunsen burners.

An experiment. Something that needs fire to observe chemical reactions between two substances.

His stomach sinks into the floor.

"STOP!", Kristal ran in. "Don't light the burners!"

Everyone was confused, obviously. Their science teacher was a little annoyed. "Mr. Tengku--"

"Boboiboy said so", he tells her.

The teacher's face changed immediately. To the students, "Everyone, stop."

Just like that, the experiment ended prematurely.

"Big brother?"

Kristal whirled around. Gamma and Blizzard looked back at him, lost looks on their faces.

His body moved on its own.

==

One of the pipes was leaking. The lab technician had failed to identify the leak due to the combination of scents from the previous experiment of the day.

If that group, that half of the class, actually lit the burners--the room would've been set ablaze.

Kristal couldn't let go of Gamma and Blizzard at all.

He knew they had powers--sun, winter--that could counter the explosion. But he didn't know if they could counter it when they didn't know it was going to happen.

He was so, so glad he didn't have to find out what would happen.

==

They got busy trying to make sure their family was still complete, that all of their brothers were safe and sound, that nothing else mattered.

It was only later that Kristal remembered Boboiboy. He wanted to thank the other boy, but when he was redirected to the infirmary--

"Why can't you just do what you're told?! I'm already doing so much, the least you can do is act cute and stay still!"

"Don't treat me like a Ken doll! What else am I supposed to do!?"

Boboiboy. Yaya. It was them, but.

"You're supposed to let other people handle it!"

"Then they'll get hurt instead!"

"You don't think that applies to you!?"

"It has to be me--!"

"No, it didn't! You're listening to some senile old woman with garlic breath!?"

"My grandma isn't senile!"

"She is if she keeps using Ocho to hurt you--!!"

Their voices were rising. Fury, hurt, panic, worry--all passionate emotions lashing out, grabbing at each other with barbed words and deafening volumes.

There was no one else in the infirmary, since it was already pretty late. This must be why those two are screaming, else they'd be a lot less explosive.

Still.

The infirmary nurse sees Kristal. She sighs before gently pushing him out. "They're fine. Just come back later. They'll be okay."

Kristal tries to protest. "But--"

"But, nothing. They need to fight it out, especially since Boboiboy's condition became worse today."

"...condition?" He wasn't informed of that.

The nurse pursed her lips together. No answers were going to come from her, clearly.

==

Left with no other choice, Kristal left. 

He sent Gamma to research Boboiboy's background in the meantime.

They should have done this earlier, really.

==

In the meantime, another disaster apparently happened at around the same time the threat at the Science Lab should've happened.

The shed where the sports equipment was kept was on the verge of collapsing.

Boboiboy managed to get everyone out before it trapped or impaled anyone inside.

In the process, he twisted his ankle on the way out. He narrowly avoided getting trapped in there.

He was very lucky to only get a twisted ankle.

==

When Kristal returned again, Boboiboy and Yaya seemed to have finished fighting. Boboiboy was facing away from the door, so he didn't know if the teen was still awake or not.

Yaya was leaving when Kristal walked in. Judging by her eyes shining, she's on the verge of bawling her eyes out.

"Knock some sense into him", she tells Kristal. "Please."

And that's the situation Kristal found himself in, sitting beside Boboiboy on one of the infirmary beds. The whole space had a sharp antiseptic and alcohol scent, likely due to sterilization. On the desk next to Boboiboy were some tablets in a saucer and a glass of water.

"...do you know the sun god, Kristal?"

Kristal turns.

"The sun god from the West. From Greece. Apollo", Boboiboy said, his face still turned away. "You know, he's in charge of prophecy. Of knowing what's going to happen in the future. And...he fell in love with some princess in a big city. Her name was Cassandra."

There wasn't any emotion from Boboiboy's voice, as if his soul was scooped out and hollowed.

"It wasn't her fault. She just had someone else in mind, I think", he continues. "But Apollo got angry when she rejected him, and so he put a curse on her. She would get to see the future of everyone she loves, but no one will ever believe her. She will watch them die twice. She will watch herself die way before she actually does."

The silence was unbearable once Boboiboy finished speaking. Not even the nurse below dared to make noise.

Slowly, Boboiboy faces Kristal. His eyes, back to it's normal brown, was empty.

"I'm so tired", Boboiboy laughs weakly. "People die every day, Kristal. It used to be manageable, but I see it more now. Every. Day. My power's getting stronger no matter what anyone does."

Kristal's breath stuttered.

"Plus, I'm just a boy", Boboiboy looks up at the ceiling. "I could die from a pebble falling from the fifth floor. I can choke on my own burger and suffocate just as likely as a terrorist can shoot me down. Hell, a dedicated duck can kill me. I'm not special."

"Don't... don't say that."

"Why not? It's true", a single tear fell. "I'm like this because some spiteful god wanted to punish someone for not falling in love with him, and dragging down her descendants in the process. That's it. It's just...birth lottery."

Kristal looked down. But you matter to so many people. You matter to us. "Yaya wanted to protect you."

Boboiboy stared at him.

Then he laughs, hysterical.

"I really wanted to look cool in front of her", he then says. "But Kristal, can I--tell you a secret?"

Kristal pauses. He nods.

Boboiboy smiles shakily. Tears start pouring down his face. "I'm scared. I promised Yaya, but...I think I'm going to break it anyway."

"What...was the promise?"

"To stay by her side. I promised I'd grow old and wrinkly with her, but now it can't be helped", Boboiboy closed his eyes. "I know what's going to happen after this. Two horrible visions a week will lead to four visions a week, then ten, and then I'll see it all the time and--I'm going to end up like my mom. I know it."

Crows pass by the window near Boboiboy's bed. One, two, three, five.

"But I have to. I have to keep doing this", he says. "I have to."

Seven.

...Boboiboy weakly reached out. His hand lightly touched Kristal's arm.

"Hold my hand?", his voice shook. "Just until I fall asleep. I...won't ask for anything else."

Kristal tensed, surprised.

He ended up being silent for way too long; Boboiboy started tearing up, voice getting a little louder. "Please? I'm sorry...I'm sorry, please..."

His sleeve crumpled at where Boboiboy held on from how tightly it was grabbed. He was shaking.

Bracing himself, Kristal took Boboiboy's hand and clasped his friend's palm gently. "I'll stay. I promise."

"You'll keep your word?", was the next response. "I-I'll hate you forever if you b-break it."

Kristal did his best to give a reassuring smile. "Rest. You'll be okay."

Brown eyes searched Kristal's face. Whatever he found made Boboiboy relax.

"Okay...and, can I tell you another secret?"

"Yes?"

Boboiboy closed his eyes. "Being the most beloved. It wasn't my ambition."

==

What Gamma found was deeply disturbing.

From Boboiboy's patriarchal side of the family, he was deeply beloved. He had a grandfather who took care of him during the summer, and a father with a busy job who would often visit during the weekends.

But from Boboiboy's matriarchal side had connections from Greece. The grandmother, especially, was originally a Greek citizen.

And there was a line of people with insanely accurate intuition within that side. All of these people died by self-termination a year after being diagnosed with Psychosis.

It happened to Boboiboy's mom.

And it will happen to Boboiboy, too, or so Boboiboy claimed.

"What do we do?", Gamma asked.

Kristal looked at the paper. The parchment crumpled slightly in his grip.

Boboiboy was precious to them. He was their comfort, their hope. But to think that this was his situation the whole time...

It's unacceptable.

==

"You know", Fang guessed the moment the brothers walked in, Kristal included. "I'm guessing Boboiboy told one of you and that person passed it on to the rest of you. You guys have always been that coordinated."

Kristal didn't confirm or deny. "If we can find a cure for Boboiboy's...condition--"

"No, you can't. And Boboiboy won't let you."

"We...what?"

Fang crossed his arms. "The first time he got those future visions, he ignored them. He was seven. He had a little cousin he saw as a little brother, Ocho. And because he ignored the vision, Ocho died."

None of them faltered.

"You need to understand", Fang's eyes narrowed at them. "Keeping the visions is his own penance for his mistake, and his reason to push on. Get rid of it and he'll kill you."

It wasn't my ambition, Boboiboy had said.

I have to keep doing this, Boboiboy also said.

Was he living his life atoning this whole time?

Why was a child living to make up for an honest mistake? Why is it his responsibility, and not the adults around him?

"That doesn't matter", Voltra pointed out. "It's his life on the line here."

"You don't think I don't know that? I've been by his side since we were ten. He didn't have a choice with the visions, but it was his choice to make it count. Did you even ask him what he wanted?"

No, but what's best for him is obvious. At least, it was to the brothers.

Gamma stepped forward. "We'll protect Boboiboy. From the visions and himself."

Fang paused. "You'll...what? How?"

"He's fragile. The world will only break him. But if he's in one place all the time, with us, then the visions will stop on their own, won't they? Because his whole world will just be the house and us."

"You're...asking to, what, trap him in your attic? Are you insane?"

"We're not asking", Beliung smirked with all teeth. "We're telling you."

All Fang saw was a blur of blue, and then everything went dark.

==

When Boboiboy came to, he was in a dark room being held by someone.

That shade of red hair...Nova?

Why is Nova here?

"It's okay. It's fine", he was telling Boboiboy. "You'll be okay now, I promise."

Had he been more aware, he'd have questioned everything. Asked where Fang was, who had stayed over in his house while he asked for help on what to say to Yaya.

Why was Nova here in this room?

How did Nova get inside his home, when he didn't tell any of the brothers his address?

"We're going home soon."

At the moment, he couldn't say anything. Not with the prickle of pain at his neck, nor the swift fog falling over his mind like a veil.

Boboiboy hums, smiling.

Even if he's losing his mind, this felt nice. What a great way to start the hallucinations.

"Yes", and so he replies in kind, cupping Nova's face gently with one hand. "Home."

If he could only see his friends like in his waking nightmares, then maybe it isn't so bad.