Chapter 6: Protagonist Treatment 

**Duncan Residence.**

"Adam Duncan~!"

The visitor was African American, fifteen or sixteen years old, without the typical physique of his ethnicity. He was slightly thin, with a playful smirk on his face, arms crossed, and eyes slanted in mock surprise. "So this is what you meant by 'focusing on your studies' after ditching PJ and the Funky Bunch? "

"I've changed my name now," Adam said helplessly. "Emmett, there's no more PJ and the Funky Bunch. And I really am studying hard. Are you only seeing Juno? Come on, the books are right here! Can't you keep your mind out of the gutter?"

"Hey, Emmett."

Juno greeted him with a cheerful smile. They were classmates and knew each other, but previously, one was quirky and the other non-mainstream, so they hadn't interacted much.

"Hey, Juno."

Emmett nodded, flattered, a stark contrast to his earlier taunting of Adam.

Juno's freckles might have lowered her score in Adam's eyes, but she perfectly fit Western beauty standards – a 100% certified cutie. How could Emmett resist her charm?

His earlier mockery wasn't just about Adam disbanding their band. It stemmed more from watching Adam juggling pretty girlfriends left and right. Emmett was still stinging from his recent dumping by the amazing Amy, while Juno, who usually ignored everyone, suddenly threw herself at Adam for a study session. How could he not be jealous?

"Are you guys really studying?"

Emmett's eyes darted suspiciously between the two.

"Of course," Juno replied with a smirk. "What else would we be doing?"

"Uh..." Emmett faltered. He had to maintain his composure in front of a beautiful girl, so he couldn't keep pestering them. Besides, he genuinely hoped Juno was telling the truth. He gave a dry laugh. "Can I join?"

"You want to join?" Adam looked at Emmett with amusement.

"What's wrong with that?" Emmett was a bit annoyed by Adam's expression. He admitted he wasn't a fan of studying, but that was because he lacked good study buddies. If he had Adam's advantages, with any of those girlfriends encouraging him, he could get into an Ivy League school in no time!

"Nothing, welcome aboard," Adam said, not refusing. In fact, he was quite happy about it.

Firstly, Emmett was his former self's best friend. In this politically correct America, a protagonist needed a supporting character like Emmett, an African American, just like those chubby sidekicks in those web novels from his past life.

If he remembered correctly, neither his former self nor Emmett went to college. They relied on his former self's cooking skills and started a food truck business together, truly remaining good brothers for life.

After Adam Crossing over, although he disbanded their band, "PJ and the Funky Bunch," he still had a good impression of the kind-hearted Emmett, influenced by his former self's emotions. They still hung out, but because Emmett wasn't keen on studying, they gradually drifted apart.

Adam was happy to see Emmett genuinely wanting to improve himself.

Secondly, Emmett's presence would dilute the awkwardness of being alone with Juno, preventing any unexpected "love conquers all" scenarios. He was still half-suspicious of Juno's reason for wanting to study together. If she suddenly decided she was attracted to him and made a move, he wasn't sure he could resist...

"Shall we start then?"

Adam shifted to the side, patting the sofa between him and Juno, signaling Emmett to sit.

"Okay!" Emmett's eyes lit up, revealing a flash of pearly white teeth. With a dancer's grace honed from street dancing, he swiftly moved over. Instead of plopping down, he pretended to bow like a gentleman to Juno. "May I?"

"Of course," Juno replied with a smile.

Emmett sat down with a smug look, glancing at Adam and then at Juno. He excitedly declared his intention to study hard, and then...nothing happened.

Three minutes later, Emmett, his head spinning from the incomprehensible "alien language," couldn't pretend anymore. He leaned back against the sofa, looking at Adam and Juno seriously discussing with a pained expression.

His ambition to get into an Ivy League school through hard work instantly shattered. He tried to console himself, "It's not a big deal... Studying isn't the only way out. We still have talents like music, dance, and sports..."

But then he slumped, realizing that although he could dance and play the drums, he wasn't good enough to be recruited by a university.

"Hee hee hee."

Teddy's cheerful laughter came from upstairs, further disturbing the already out-of-place Emmett. He blurted out subconsciously, "I can't believe Teddy cheated on me behind my back!"

"Teddy didn't cheat on you," Adam looked up and retorted. "Because you two were never in a relationship, and she barely even notices you!"

"No!" Emmett couldn't care less about Juno's presence anymore. Compared to Juno, he preferred Teddy. He argued, "We're just taking things slow. Even my mom knows about our relationship."

Adam: ...

Juno: ...

What a fantastic excuse.

"Who's that guy?" Seeing them speechless, Emmett smirked triumphantly, then glared angrily at the ceiling.

"Spencer, the guy Teddy's obsessed with," Adam said after a moment's thought, with a smile. "If it's really like you said, why don't you go up there and stop them?"

"Yeah," Juno chimed in, her eyes playfully watching Emmett. "Unless you have some special... preferences?"

"Of course not! I'll definitely stop them. I'll go right now!" How could Emmett tolerate such teasing? He jumped up and headed upstairs.

"Ooh, this is going to be good," Juno said to Adam with a grin. "Aren't you going to watch?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Adam leaned back, stretching his arms and legs, and closed his eyes. "If Emmett had the guts, he would have already flown to the moon. 10, 9, 8..."

Before Adam could finish the countdown, Emmett reappeared.

"How did it go?" Juno asked, eager for gossip.

Emmett gave an awkward smile, trying to cover up. "He realized he was wrong..."

Before he could finish, Teddy and Spencer's laughter drifted down from upstairs. Emmett froze.

"Spencer is so tall. I wonder what he eats," Adam said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah," Emmett said angrily. "He's actually a whole head taller than me!"

He had gone up to confront Spencer, even wanting to drag him out for a one-on-one fight. But when Spencer stood up and looked down at him, he immediately changed his mind, removing the "fight" part and instead asking Spencer to walk him out to his car.

Of course, he wasn't going to mention that part.

"Teddy isn't right for you," Adam couldn't help but advise. "I think you and Ivy getting back together would be good."

Just as Adam had Emmett by his side, Teddy's best friend, Ivy, was also African American.

Emmett and Ivy had a thing... Wait, come to think of it, Emmett wasn't such a good guy either.

Adam's gaze towards Emmett suddenly sharpened. So, he hadn't noticed before, but this guy actually wanted to have both best friends? In his dreams!

(End of Chapter)