Jakes pov

"It was the last lecture of the day and I was ready to head home."

"As I gathered my things and headed out the door,I felt so anxious because I didn't see Sarah after the first lecture and ended up smoking."

"I saw Sarah emerging from the school , and she was walking towards the parking lot."

"At first, I thought she was heading towards me, but she went straight to her car instead."

"I see James running towards Uzma with a huge grin on his face, I couldn't hear what they are talking, I saw them from a distance and decided to head over to see what was going on.

"As soon as James offered her a ride, I felt a knot in my stomach and clenched my fists."

"Her brother must be coming to pick her up or she'll be heading with her friends" i cut in

"Umm By the way, I have my car, so I can drive myself home." She responded

"I felt relieved after knowing that she had a ride to get back home. I didn't want her to leave with James."

"I caught James giving me a disapproving look."

After coming homel I was sitting on a couch when i see James storming in.

"My whole life I've known There are two types of people in this world The people who radiate confidence and Naturally excel at life and the people who has an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object.

"Woah woah woah, what happened bro"

"You know what I'm talking about Jake don't do this to me you exactly know what I'm going through yet you have the nerve to make me suffer and do things which I don't like"

I" knit my eyebrows together and sit up straight, my voice sharp as I ask 'What are you talking about James?'

I'm clearly confused and maybe even a little frustrated that he's not making sense.

He turns to me , his expression a mix of disbelief and frustration.

"You know I would at least have one person to have lunch with, Instead the most attention I got at school Who was from these three who used to harass the shit out of me. My childhood had become a raging dumpster fire. And I couldn't take one more second Of this intolerable unliveable nightmare , I wanted to be away from this school.

'I can't believe it,' . 'I've been thinking about this girl since I arrived, and now that I'm finally back, I find out that my brother is in love with her too? It's like the universe is playing some cruel joke on me.'"

"It's not like I planned it, I'm not going to apologise for having feelings for someone, I know, man. It's crazy. I didn't mean for it to happen, but I can't help how I feel" I try make him understand.

"I'm not gonna depress you more Jake, Being in any kind of happiness is better than being miserable ...About someone u cannot have" he growls in response.

"What you want me to do James"I snarl back

"I want you to think about how shitty this is for me too"

"I.. I know"

"What if i did this to you ? Huh
Why? why? why? do you even like her"? He replies controlling his temper.

Lets see where things go

"You know may be , you hooked up with her .. so now you are emotionally attached or just attracted" he interjected.

"No James ,how can you even think she's that kind of girl"

"Are you .. are you.. unconsciously mad at me, may be and this is like some kind of revenge? ... cause if that's what it is we can work it..."

"Will you stop talking because you're driving me insane ... please!" I butted in

"I don't need you to give me advice or tell me what to do. I just need you to be there for me and listen to what I have to say. Sometimes, all I need is a sounding board, someone who can understand where I'm coming from and empathize with me."

"I'm listening." I speaks through gritted teeth's.

"First time I saw her when our cars crashed ... and thats when i saw her I felt some spark rising inside me .. I never felt this way for anyone else.
I..I just want to get on with my life "

James sat beside me on the couch holding his head in both the hands

"Bro! fighting over a girl isn't worth .We should agree to let her make her own decision and we would support her no matter what. We're still brothers and nothing will ever change that." I replied making him turn towards me.

"In the end, we realised that our relationship is more important than a girl. We made up and are closer than ever" he contemplated.

"I agree on this one jake we were both being selfish. We're still brothers and we'll always have each other's backs." He sniffs while taking me into a hug.

" Ehhh.. don't go all emo over me , we're good anyways she has no idea we brothers are head over heels we don't want to let our feelings ruin our relationship. I can't imagine anyone else loving her like I do" I felt my muscles tense up while saying

"We both have feelings for her, but we don't want to let a girl come between us. We will try to work things out and put our brotherhood first."James stated while getting up .

"I spent the rest of the day playing PS4."

"I thought of grabbing a bite somewhere out with Neil "

"I was thinking of going out to eat with Neil. Do you have any recommendations for a good restaurant?"

"What are you up to tonight? I called Neil to see if he was available."

"We heard about a frat party and decided to check it out."

"I freshened up and went straight to Neil's to pick him up."

"Loud music was coming from the frat house, and we could feel the bass vibrating in the air."

The lawn was full of people holding red cups

"A full house, hurry up" Neil says and gets out of the car slamming the car door behind him

The party was in full swing. The lawn was packed with people holding red cups, chatting with friends and enjoying the music. Some were sitting near the pool, taking in the warm evening air, while others were dancing near the music speaker, moving to the beat of the rhythm. It was a lively and energetic atmosphere.

As soon as I walked toward the drinks counter, I felt someone hugging my back, It was none other than Rebekah throwing herself at me.

I pushed her and said "have you ever heard the word personal space." which made her red with embarrassment.

She started saying some incoherent words to me. I couldn't care less, so I walked away toward the centre where the table was set up for the beer pong game.

The room was filled with the sound of ping pong balls bouncing off the table and the cheers of the players as they made their shots. The atmosphere was lively and fun, with people laughing and having a good time. The game was intense, with both teams determined to win.

One of the team members saw me, they started cheering, which led to everyone there cheer for me as I was an expert in this game.

Some guy with blonde hair passed me the ball. I toyed with the ping pong ball for a few seconds calculating its weight and centre of mass. With a swift and precise movement I threw the ball, which bounced on the table and gracefully landed in the middle of the first cup. A round of applause and cheers filled the room, as I smirked.

"Ok, maybe you are good." Drake admitted drinking the beer in a few seconds.

"But I'm not so bad myself."
He responded with another, obviously arrogant smile.

He held the ball on his eye-level pretended to concentrate and then threw it. As I anticipated it bounced with excessive force, missing the target completely and landing near my left arm.

"I guess, I don't get to drink this round." I shrugged.

My next shot was, again, a success, similarly to the third and then the forth one. On the opposite side, Drake had failed every single time. He simply never stood a chance.

I knew everything that there was to know. The necessary velocity, the friction, aerodynamics, the mass of the ball, the angle of the bounce, I could calculate and adjust everything in a heartbeat

Drake was not accustomed to failure, so being suddenly on the losing side and looked down upon would drastically increase his cortisol levels and subsequently his levels of stress. Excessive stress equals less concentration and therefore, even more failure. He had unknowingly entered the cycle from the very beginning without any resistance at all, signing his own doom.

Soon enough, we reached round number 20. I had yet to miss a shot, while poor Drake had only managed three points.

Three drinks was only a minor inconvenience for me, taking into consideration the big time intervals between the two successful throws and the fact that I had been constantly consuming water, slowly flushing out the toxic substances.

Time for the final stage of my experiment. I lifted the ball gently, held it in front of my nose and took a deep breath, eyeing the final cup on the opponent's side.
My concentration was interrupted by the cheering of the crowd which made look towards its source.

Woah, James was the one who entered. He made a striking entrance to the party.
It seemed that James has earned a reputation as "the opponent" among the people. They started to refer him using that title.

"You have to play at least one game with James bro" Neil says .

"James is an expert in playing beer pong, and he taught me how to play the game. He had a lot of experience and he shared his knowledge with me so that I could learn how to play too" I replied.

This is even cooler when both the opponents are pros. he says enthusiastically.
____________________________
James pov

As I enter I see Jake was already playing with one of our classmates.

Jake and I were being cheered on to play beer pong, and the people around us were excited to see both of us play against each other .

I could turn this inconvenience to an opportunity. Social sciences were not my forte, but I couldn't say no to an experiment. Especially when I had nothing else productive to do. I stepped out of the shadows and walked towards the soon-to-be lab rats.

"I will take you on, Jake" I declared, not forgetting to put on a friendly smile. I should not jeopardize my experiment by raising suspicion.

"You?" On of the girl's intervened not hiding her contempt. "How? You barely drink! You don't even play sports!"

Once again my own blood underestimated my skills. Overlooking the fact that Beer Pong could hardly be classified as a sport, I actually held athletics in high regard. And how on earth she knows whether I drink or not.

"Come on, let us have some fun." I smiled innocently. It did not matter how much she objected, I just had to convince Jake.

"Well said! Let's have some fun! Come on, bro."

Bait bitten. We assumed positions in opposite sides of the dining table, 10 not-so-ecological red, plastic cups on each other's side forming the familiar triangle.

"I need to warn you though." I casually declared. "I am really good at it."

"Ok, is that right? Let's see then." Jake replied winking at me.

I could tell that I managed to get a bit under his skin. The plan was going smoothly this far.

The rest of the pack had their eyes glued on us, holding their breaths, seemingly experiencing some sort of religious experience. I threw the ball, it bounced, approached the edge of the cup and... bull's eye.

The crowd cheered in frantic joy, chanting my name. I humoured them by lifting my arms.

Jake begrudgingly lifted the final cup ready to consume the toxic liquid. I could not risk him ending up being drunk any further. Also, it was time for the glorious conclusion of my methodology.

I walked up to him, putting one hand on his shoulder and the other on his arm, stopping him from bringing the cup up to his lips.

"You've been an amazing opponent, brother. I have never seen a man taking a drink like you can." The sudden praise, combined with his drunken state, took him by surprise. Contrary to what he and, much more likely, people might have thought, my intention was never to completely ridicule him.

He was more useful as an ally after all. I took the cup and lifted his arm ceremoniously towards the spectators.

"Give it up for my twiniee, everybody."

The cheers mended his wounded ego quickly, as he laughed and hugged me after just a few seconds. I already knew that, despite his inferior emotional intelligence, he was not one to hold a grudge. Which made my task even easier.After-all he has a reputation.

"You are a champion, mate. The freakin' best!" he mumbled after letting out a war cry, collapsing on the couch, with Neil going to him.

I turned to the pack, who now united under my influence had gone back to chanting my name. As the atrociously loud music resumed they lifted me in their arms celebrating what they considered to be a tremendous feat.

——————————-——————————-

Hellooo, my lovelies how are you guys doing  did you'll  like the chapter? If so, please vote and leave a comment to let me know what you'll  think! Also, don't forget to check out my Instagram account for more updates on my writing journey.

"I just created a novel plot video on Instagram and I'd love for you to check it out! If you're interested, please follow me on Instagram @Aira.Thetis
https://instagram.com/aira.thetic?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== to see the video"