Christopher Bang ⁻ ⁽²¹⁾

Your mother and his are best friends. They both got pregnant around the same time. You and Christopher are only a few months apart in age. For most of your life, you had to share absolutely everything with Christopher. You became sort of best friends, but you didn't get along. Christopher was the most unbearable person you'd ever met; capricious, self-centered, and obsessed with playing mean pranks on you. You really hated him.

You turned 17, and your life took a significant turn when your mother's friend announced they were going to spend some time in a European province so Chris could finish his studies with top marks. You couldn't have been happier.

About 6 years passed before your mother told you that her friend and her family would be returning.

You were waiting for them at a country house your parents had rented. You barely looked up from your phone when the front door opened. You greeted the couple casually, who were telling you how much you'd grown in that time. But your peace was shattered by a brief insult that finally made you look up.

Christopher looked so good; he'd stopped being that annoying teenager and had become a handsome, elegant man. But you weren't going to tell him.

You were lying on the bed in your assigned room, checking the latest news from your social circle on your phone. Someone knocked on your window loud enough for you to hear. You peered out, only able to see the trees a few feet away. You decided to ignore it for your own good and returned to your screen. There was another knock on the glass. You got up from the bed, and after glancing outside for a moment, Christopher jumped, startling you.

—"I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

He said, feigning concern, from the other side of the window.