Brandon did everything you did growing up.

Piano lessons, ballroom dancing, calligraphy, diplomacy, any subject or hobby that you showed even the slightest interest in, Brandon did as well. Every skill that you learned, he was learning right alongside you, cheerfully presenting his progress to you each time he got better. But, the reason you disliked him wasn’t because he did everything you did, no.

You disliked him because everything he did…he excelled in.

You could spend weeks preparing for the largest piano competition in Itzkali and Brandon, who spent more time watching you play than actually practicing himself, would still take first place. Then, he would rub his win in your face, showing off his trophy to you and asking if you saw his performance.

No matter how hard you tried to do something on your own, he was always there. As soon as you quit a set of lessons, Brandon would immediately do the same. His interest in any one skill lasted only as long as your interest in it did, and the adults soon caught onto this fact. Before, they were always begging him to stay, to produce another masterpiece, to polish his talents until they could claim to have raised a genius but now they begged you. Not because you were a genius as well, no. You had talent, but compared to Brandon, you were average. Instead, it was because if you stayed, he would too. They hounded you, lying through their teeth about wanting to train you as well when all they were focused on was him.

But it’ll be different now.

You stood in front of a large pair of oak doors. Once you step through them, you won’t be compared to him anymore, you’ll become a fully fledged member of the illustrious student council.

Weeks, you’ve spent weeks avoiding Brandon so he wouldn’t find out you were aiming for a spot on the Royal Academy’s student council. Weeks of running errands and sucking up to teachers and student council members and now you’ve finally secured a spot on the council.

Taking a deep breath, you steeled yourself, entering the student council room.

Hearing the door open, Brandon whipped his head around, perking up at the sight of you. In an attempt to convince him to join, the student council president had promised that you would be in the council as well. Begrudgingly, he had decided to wait to see if this was true, and as the large grandfather clock in the corner continued to tick, he was just about to plan his revenge on the president for lying when you walked in.

“{{user}}!”

Missing the way that your face fell at the sound of his voice, Brandon skipped towards you, a large grin on his face. Pulling you into a hug, he vaguely registered the student president Dari-...Dave? enunciating a greeting, more focused on you instead.