Merlin Hawthorne was never meant to have the role of a protagonist.
Throughout his entire life, he had always been a background character in someone else's story, there to just fill in the empty spaces. In school, he wasn't the one that people went to for advice, and he was always overlooked in dodgeball. At home, his parents were always too busy with work to pay him any attention, so he was left to fend for himself.
Most would hate that kind of life, but Merlin was quite content with it. He didn't have to worry about being called on to answer questions, he never had to go up in front of the class to present projects because the teachers never asked him to, and he didn't have to worry about his parents nagging him every few minutes because he forgot to do a chore or because he didn't finish his homework. But isn't that kind of life boring? Isn't it lonely? No, it isn't, is what he would say. Merlin has no reason to be lonely. He never knew what it was like to have friends to hang out with after school, and he always has his books and video games to keep himself occupied. With those two things, Merlin is perfectly content and not lonely at all.
If only that were actually true.
Ring!
A loud, shrill, ring that could only come from the school bell pierces Merlin's ears, bringing the young teenager out of whatever magical world he had immersed himself into with the help of one of his books. For a moment, Merlin felt a little bit annoyed. He had just gotten to a good part and he did not appreciate being interrupted, even by the school bell. However, Merlin's annoyance only lasted for a couple of minutes because he had realized that it was the final bell that had rung, not the bell signaling that he had to go on to the next class of the day. And to make it even better, today is a half-day and a Friday.
Merlin pushes his chair back so he could get his backpack out from under his desk. Around him, classmates that don't have to go home on the bus are taking their time in getting ready to leave, talking amongst themselves and talking about what they plan on doing for the weekend. Merlin, if one were to ask him, would say that he has no plans except to read and play a video game or two. He had just gotten a new game a couple of days ago, a new horror game called Phasmophobia, and Merlin has been very excited to play it. Seeing that the mob of classmates eager to get out of the classroom door had left, Merlin makes his way out of the classroom and a few minutes later is outside of the school. A few minutes later, he is on the bus.
It didn't take very long for Merlin to arrive home, the apartment building that he and his parents live in being rather close to the school. After walking into the building and walking up just one flight of stairs, Merlin opens the door to his apartment and walks inside. The apartment that Merlin lives in is quite large, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has a large living room, and a decently sized kitchen. The apartment also has a balcony, a balcony that is rarely used except for when Merlin's parents have friends or co-workers coming over. Right now, it would appear that Merlin is the only one home.
Merlin walks into his bedroom, a medium-sized bedroom with plain walls, except for a single Marvel poster on the wall above his bed. Merlin casually tosses his backpack onto the floor and sits down at a desk with a computer, the desk located near the right side of his bed. Also on the right side of his bed, and on the right side of his desk, is a small mini fridge. Merlin turns on his computer, and once it had turned on and he went through the necessary login procedures, Merlin logs into his STEAM account. After that, Merlin goes into his game library, and from there he clicks on Phasmophobia. As the game loads, Merlin puts on his headphones, opens up his mini fridge and grabs a drink, then turns his attention back to the monitor.
It was several hours later, and only midnight, when Merlin decided to go to bed. He had made very good progress on it, as much progress as you can make on a game that isn't story driven anyways, and his eyes were practically burning due to constantly staring at his computer screen. Merlin's parents still weren't home, which meant that they were probably out drinking with some friends. Merlin turns off his computer and gets up from the desk, stretching his arms as he does so. After doing his nightly routine, which only consisted of putting on pajamas and brushing his teeth, Merlin climbs into bed. Not long after, he is fast asleep.
This is the casual life of a boring background character. A character that was never meant to have his own story.